Jade
by AlcatrazisGod
Summary: After waking up in an unfamiliar forest, Robin is left all alone with a talking snake who's intent is nothing short of diabolical. With many of his memories wiped clean from his mind yet again, Robin follows his new companion deeper into unfamiliar territory with the hope of uncovering the secrets hidden within the forest.
1. Viper

_Note: Alright my first Fire Emblem story... Where to begin?_

 _This story was probably the most difficult thing I've ever had to write. There have been so many versions of this one particular story, it's utterly ridiculous. As I release more chapters down the line, I'll have to talk about these older iterations of Jade._

 _Aside from that, I should mention that Jade is the sister story of another work of mine, but that is largely unrelated. Jade and the story Xibalba both take place in the same world (most of the time) and both plots unfold at around the same timeframe, but that is where the similarities end. I will probably speak more on the two stories and how they came to be in later notations, but for now, I will delay this introduction no longer._

 _I hope you all enjoy the Jade, and I look forward to any feedback you wish to give._

* * *

 **Viper**

Robin sat on the cold ground with his back against a massive tree trunk. It towered over him like every other tree in this enormous forest. He often found himself nearly falling over anytime he tried to peer up into the bluish canopy overhead.

A serpent was tightly coiled around Robin's neck. Its body was colored a deep cobalt. The reptile had a white belly and a black forked tongue that could occasionally be seen rapidly flicking in and out of its mouth. The snake looked upon its surroundings with a pair of emotionless icy blue eyes.

" _Someone's following us_ ," the snake clearly spoke in a whisper.

"What else is new," Robin quietly questioned. He began scanning his surroundings to see if he could find who or whatever was disturbing his reptilian comrade.

Robin's serpent hissed angrily at his careless response. "Yeah? Well, it's pissing me off. Whoever this person is, they're dedicated. It also bothers me that from what I've seen, they seem to be a woman. I've seen her moving through the shadows a few times. Dark hair and dark clothes are what I've seen so far."

"Sounds familiar," Robin replied.

The snake gasped at what he considered to be an extremely lackluster response. "That's my point, you idiot! We've been attacked repeatedly by that blue-haired woman with the fancy sword and you want to tell me that you knew we were being followed and you didn't say anything?"

"I know who that is," Robin murmured under his breath. He glanced over his left shoulder at the sound of some brush rustling behind him. "Or at least… I'm pretty sure I know who's following us. If it's who I think it is, then she has a tendency of flat out stalking me. The only reason I haven't tried to call her out yet is because I'm not certain about this."

"That doesn't put my mind at ease," the snake grumbled. "We've got important business to be getting on with! Let's just drop this woman and leave her corpse for the Druids."

Robin slowly shook his head. He stood up with the serpent still tightly wrapped around his neck and closely examined his surroundings. The trees were tall enough to be considered wooden citadels. Strange vines spread across the trunks of these trees and gave off a bright neon blue glow. Ominous orbs of light floated down from the canopy like snow.

Aside from a line of bushes toward the west with large turquoise leaves, the forest floor was practically empty of vegetation. No sunlight could penetrate that dome of leaves overhead. Only the light from those alien vines growing on nearby trees had a chance of illuminating the dark world underneath the canopy.

"Tharja," Robin announced. "If you're here, come on out. We're already on edge and you are not helping."

"How did you know it was me," a seductive voice asked from right behind him.

Robin practically jumped out of his own skin and instantly twirled himself around. Standing next to the tree was a woman dressed from head to toe in black and gold. She held a large book in her arms. Her eyes were hidden behind a shadow cast on them by her dark bangs. However, Robin could still see the ominous smile which was just barely hidden behind her book.

The snake quickly moved its head in between Robin and the woman he insisted on calling 'Tharja.' With a cynical glare, the snake stared this woman down but she did not appear too bothered by the reptile's gaze.

"You know this creep," asked the serpent.

Tharja tilted her head and looked past the snake and directly at the young man behind him. "Why is that thing talking to me?"

"Uh," Robin stuttered for the sake of interrupting his little friend before he had time to get more aggressive with this newcomer. "Tharja, this is my new friend, Ghiaccio. I woke up here in this forest a little while ago. I met him and he's been guiding me ever since."

"So, this is where you've been all this time," asked Tharja.

Robin nodded at her inquiry. " _Unfortunately_ , we've all since given up on finding you, Chrom, or the others. I honestly cannot recall how I got here. Perhaps you explaining how you found me could help jog my memory a bit. If you don't mind, that is."

"Of course I don't mind," Tharja eagerly replied while not taking her eyes off of that talking serpent coiled around Robin's neck. "However, I do not exactly remember myself. I woke up last night underneath an outcropping rock and small stream. At first, I did not think much of it until I saw these glowing trees. Then I realized I was in a bit of trouble, but with you around, all my problems are solved!"

"Huh," Ghiaccio curiously grunted at her. "Hold on a minute! When did you wake up here? Judging by your appearance, I'm guessing it was recent."

"Just last night," Tharja confirmed. "By the way, how are you able to talk like that? Robin? Did you pick up one of my books and turn someone into this ugly thing? I don't mind, but I would appreciate if you would tell me before borrowing my tomes."

Her assumptions were suddenly beginning to irritate both Robin and Ghiaccio. The snake craned it's neck until it's cold eyes met Robin's confused visage. "Is she slow or something?"

As usual, Ghiaccio was not making his situation any better. He took a few steps back when he noticed Tharja aggressively gripping the large book in her hands as if she were preparing to smash Ghiaccio's head in with the thing.

"Talking serpents seem to be a common thing in this forest," said Robin. "Well, that's what Ghiaccio told me at any rate."

The sound of suspicious rustling in the background was enough to tear Robin's attention away from the issues at hand. "I think we should start moving again," he murmured under his breath.

Tharja noticed the growing sense of apprehension in Robin and decided to take advantage of this change in atmosphere. "Afraid of something, my love," she questioned. "Don't worry, I'm here."

"Yes, you are," Robin stated with nothing better to say at the moment. He did not even have time to blush before Ghiaccio started hissing at Tharja for being way too close.

In response, Tharja painfully dug her nails into Robin's arm. He curiously leaned away from his admirer when she began growling at Ghiaccio. An intimidation contest quickly spawned from these odd circumstances. Ghiaccio eventually pointed the end of its tail skyward and swiftly swung it back and forth. This produced a loud rattling sound. It was more than enough to drive Robin insane.

" _Enough_ ," he exclaimed. "We don't have time for this."

Robin then turned toward Tharja and pushed her off of his arm. "Ghiaccio and I are heading for the river just to the west. I'm guessing you'll be coming with us?"

"I'd follow you anywhere… _my love_."

Robin and Ghiaccio turned to face each other with a worried look on both of their faces. Ghiaccio's nasty scowl did not reassure Robin about Tharja's presence in any way.

The snake lifted its head high above Robin for the sake of rising above his level as if the reptile were trying to maintain some form of supremacy over the young man. "I did not approve of this, Robin! Yvo is extremely paranoid. If he found out that we brought a plus one then you can forget about cooperation from his end!"

"Tharja," Robin politely inquired. "Are you going to follow us even if we ask you to do otherwise?"

"Do you really need to ask such a question?"

Robin sighed and moved further away from his little stalker. "No," he admitted. "But I do have a lot of inquiries. Come on, follow us."

* * *

Despite Ghiaccio's rather aggressive means of disagreeing with Robin's decision, Tharja continued to follow him. They moved quietly through the woods. Robin took notice in how Tharja seemed to intentionally slow her pace.

For the entirety of the trip, she followed several yards behind Robin and Ghiaccio. Her silence combined with the fact that she was now well out of his sight was worrying to Robin. He could not help but address her presence. "How are you doing back there, Tharja," he inquired.

"I am doing just fine," Tharja seductively remarked. "What a sweet thing for you would ask. You've been so inquisitive lately. It's almost like you're _obsessed_ with me."

Robin silently denied her assumption with a shake of his head. He had no desire to humor her by providing a response. Instead, he simply moved on to the next question in mind. "And you really don't remember anything on you wound up in these woods? You have no idea where we are on the map or where Chrom and the others are?"

Ghiaccio moved its head in between the two individuals and hissed at Tharja in a low pitch. She backed away to clear a few more inches from the serpent. Regardless of the distance, she had already secured from the snake, it could obviously never be enough.

"Would you shut up, already," Ghiaccio coldly inquired as he turned back to face his white-haired companion.

"Come again," asked Robin.

The snake tightened itself around Robin's neck. Ghiaccio was not exactly choking the life out of him yet, but he was on the verge of crossing that line. "You've been at this ever since we started moving again," Ghiaccio insisted in an unreasonably wrathful tone. "How many times are you going to ask the same stupid questions!?"

Robin let out a long sigh as the snake continued to complain and rant about Tharja's presence. "Let us address this in private, Ghiaccio," Robin proposed as he stepped away from Tharja. He waved at her as if that silent gesture was enough to excuse both him and his serpent friend for a few moments.

When he was certain they were a safe distance, Robin spoke out again in a soft whisper. "Let me explain something to you, Ghiaccio. I was hoping we could talk about this later but we clearly cannot with the way you have been acting. Tharja is obsessed with me. When I was serving with Chrom, she would follow me wherever I went. I would honestly not be surprised at all if she threw herself into a den of bears at my request. I know you may not like her, but there is a reason why I haven't tried to lose her trail."

It did not take long before Ghiaccio lifted his head and quietly giggled at the unsuspecting woman. Robin lowered his gaze at the sound of Ghiaccio's impish laugh. That snicker was enough to tell Robin that the serpent had thought of something. He was amazed by how well the snake was able to catch on to his intent. It was as if they both shared the same twisted mind.

"How diabolically ingenious of you," Ghiaccio quietly complemented. "A tactician and a manipulative mastermind. When I first found you in these woods, I thought I had come across another hopeless sap. How glad I am to see that my assumptions were wrong."

Ghiaccio then lifted its head high above Robin's messy white hair and focused its narrow eyes on the young woman in black.

It was almost impossible to pick up on any form of emotion with those reptilian features. For the moment, Tharja assumed the serpent was going to make another insulting remark about her. Tharja's patience was growing thinner with each passing moment that she continued following this cruel snake. She knew that one more crack about her uniform was bound to send her on a hexing rampage.

After a period of hesitation, the snake finally spoke. "My deepest apologies," he stated, much to Tharja's surprise.

"I had no idea how close you and Robin were," the snake continued. Tharja immediately blushed upon hearing this while Robin merely hid his expression of resentment behind the serpent's coiled body. "That was my mistake. You see, I have been guiding Robin ever since I found him in this dangerous forest. There is a reason why I am so apprehensive about people, but since you are a friend of Robin's, I suppose you can come with us."

* * *

In silence, Tharja followed them. She acted as if she did not exist. Tharja listened closely whenever she heard Robin and Ghiaccio whispering among themselves. Either they had forgotten about her presence, or they were intentionally ensuring that she would not be able to overhear them.

Her smile comically grew at the mere thought of them feeling secure. She always managed to pick up on anything Robin was saying. After spending weeks on in stalking him, she had become quite good at reading his lips to find the words that her ears failed to pick up on.

The conversation suddenly ended after Ghiaccio finally decided to formally welcome her to their journey. Despite this, Tharja still had no idea where they were heading. Ghiaccio was most certainly not telling her anything and Tharja had quickly taken notice into how silent Robin was when the snake was present. He only ever bothered to speak when Ghiaccio was addressing him or when Tharja put enough pressure on him to do so.

Robin's inquiries about how she found herself as lost in the forest as he was quickly died off when she failed to provide any real answers. She eventually focused less on Robin for once and attempted to recall events leading up to her waking up in the middle of this alien world filled with unfamiliar wildlife.

Every time Tharja tried to trace her memories, they eventually led to a gap in time or a dead end altogether. To her, it remained a mystery why she decided to speak out once again. It was obvious that the others relished in her silence, but Tharja simply felt the need to remind Robin of her existence in this lonely jungle of neon lights and unnaturally thin air.

"What do you remember, Robin," asked Tharja, interrupting whatever ominous plot he was discussing with the serpent on his shoulders. "The last thing I remember was participating in some skirmish. I doubt that you were present in this quarrel along the border of Plegia. After all, I am certain that I would remember if you were indeed there. I feel as though I have amnesia. Even beyond the point of said battle, I cannot remember much of anything aside from you and the names of the more noteworthy people we fought with. Everything else is blank to me. I fail to even remember the names of my parents."

"I remember about as much as you do, Tharja," Robin insisted in a detached tone. "At one point, all I wanted to do was find out what happened and where all of you went. However, that time has long past."

He paused for a short while. Robin eventually slowed his pace to a stop. Ghiaccio remained dead quiet during this time. Tharja naturally halted her stride as well and waited for him to speak. Eventually, Robin recollected himself and resumed his speech. "Do you want some advice, Tharja?"

"Yes," she exclaimed as she clasped her hands together in anticipation like a child eagerly awaiting a long desired gift. "More than anything!"

"Forget the past," Robin warned. "You can pursue your memories if you truly want to, but you had best turn the opposite direction now because you won't find them with us. I gave up on trying to find you all long ago. Now, Ghiaccio and I are moving forward to claim the future. Join us if you want or turn back now. Either way, our path is set. Isn't that right, Ghiaccio?"

The snake did nothing but laugh at Robin's resolve in the most menacing of ways. "That's absolutely correct. Chasing memories will only slow you down, my friend."

Tharja was almost offended by their continued persistence when it came to giving her an out before she became too wrapped up in their business. Robin's lack of understanding when it came to her motives was incomprehensible to her. "Do you honestly think I care about any of them," asked Tharja. "Is it not obvious to you yet?"

"No, it's very obvious," Ghiaccio spoke out in place of Robin. " _That_ is the issue. Oh well. I suppose it doesn't matter. You had your chance to turn back. From now on, you'll be coming with us. Follow all of my instructions carefully, Tharja. It just might save Robin's life. Fail to do any of it and he could end up dead. We don't want that, now, do we?"

With a spiteful glare, Tharja eventually looked past the snake and attempted to make eye contact with Robin while trying to ignore the serpent in between them. "Never fear, Robin. Just point out our obstacles and I shall remove them."

"I'm sure you will," Robin flatly remarked. "Unfortunately, you will have to prove yourself to us on another day."

Ghiaccio turned back to Robin in confusion. He titled his head and flickered his tongue at his companion. "What are you going on about, now?"

"We need to cancel our journey to the river," Robin declared in a calm tone. "If this river is as far away as you claim, then there is no possible way we can make it there before sundown. We will have to retreat back home for the night and start again tomorrow."

"Dammit," Ghiaccio screamed in agitation.

"What's the issue," asked Tharja. She smiled at Robin in a sly fashion and spoke again. "Afraid of the dark, are we? Not to worry, Robin. I'm here," she said with a giggle that was as false and misleading as the grin on her face.

Both the snake and the tactician ignored her interruption. With a roll of his sky-colored eyes, Ghiaccio focused on Robin. "No. Keep moving, I doubt we'll run into the Druids."

That was probably the last thing Robin wanted to hear. Tharja watched him shutter at this unexplained issue. Once again, she found herself wondering if they were intentionally being as vague as possible around her.

"That doesn't sound like a good idea," Robin warned. His words were quickly cut off when Ghiaccio tightened his body around Robin's throat.

It took Tharja few seconds to realize what was going on as Ghiaccio's motion, as well as Robin's reaction, were both well concealed. She began to silently advance on Robin with a panicked look in her eyes. Just when she started brainstorming different methods in which to kill the serpent before it had a chance to choke Robin, Ghiaccio loosened his constricting pose.

"Oh, it's a good idea if I say it is," Ghiaccio retorted in a hiss. "Now, keep moving. The odds of us running into those freaks are low and there's no way I'm going all the way back home today. If I were you, I'd worry less about the coming night and more about all of the possible vantage points Lucina could be stalking us from."

Even through Ghiaccio's intimidating voice, Robin still managed to pick up the sound of someone flipping through the pages of a book. He instinctively turned toward Tharja. She kept glancing between him and the contents of the book she constantly carried around in her arms. The wrathful expression she wore was enough evidence for Robin to figure out everything going on in her dark little mind.

He extended a hand toward her in an attempt to calm her before she did anything too rash. "Tharja, I ask that you close the book right now."

Soon enough, Ghiaccio was able to pick up on what was going on. He looked to Tharja with a mischievous grin. He flicked his forked tongue at her as if he were trying to smell her frustrations. "Yeah," Ghiaccio agreed. "Stand down before you get yourself hurt."

Robin shook his head while Ghiaccio spoke with the hopes that he could silently dissuade her from acting out while the serpent only complicated matters.

"You know, Robin," Tharja stated with a dark stare. She eyed the snake with malevolent intent. Within this small frame of time, her disturbed mind was beginning to run through all the ways in which she could kill this cruel serpent. "My mother always said that a snake was always a great way to test out the sharpness of a shovel."

" _Quiet_ ," Robin demanded. "We allow you to follow us and you've caused nothing but irritation. I recommend that you take note of your words before speaking them. You might just end up making a couple unwanted enemies."

As Robin spoke, he could feel Ghiaccio coiling with anger. He averted his eyes to the cobalt pit viper and noticed how Ghiaccio was entering an obvious position reach out and strike.

"Where do you find these people, Robin," Ghiaccio coldly asked. "Did _all_ of your comrades respond to the most casual of jokes with such aggression? Have you never bothered to discipline them? Maybe we should start with her?"

Tharja furrowed a brow at Ghiaccio. While she had never once considered the idea of a snake that could talk, it only made sense to her that something of this nature would come from such a venomous being. However, it was still not as peculiar as Robin's reaction. He had the same calculative look on his face that she would always see when following his orders in battle. Now, Robin appeared to be thinking of a way to carry out Ghiaccio's suggestion.

She sighed during this period of silence and moved her left hand to her hip and out of Robin's view. Tharja allowed a sinister sensation to begin cultivating in her concealed palm. Strange and ugly energies started combining with each other and intertwining with her fingers. All the while she, she made sure not to let Robin see this dark process.

"What shall we do with her," asked the viper. "Do you think her behavior can be solved with a simple slap across the face or shall I sink my teeth into her flesh and let the venom flow?"

Tharja responded long before Robin had a chance. She silently moved her left hand in front of them. She revealed the purple spell swirling around it just mere moments before both Ghiaccio and Robin fell helplessly to the ground.

They were unable to move any part of their bodies aside from their eyes which they both used to look up at Tharja with a nasty scowl.

Tharja could not help but smile at Robin's current vulnerability. She knelt down before them to reach their level and promptly patted the former tactician on his head.

"This was one of the first hexes I ever learned," Tharja informed. "It was created by my mother if you would believe that. It is rather simple in the grand scheme of things but extremely complicated to put into action. This hex is designed to leave the victim in an odd state of paralysis. It render's everything aside from the victim's eyes and their sense of pain useless. I learned this hex very early on in my life because my dear mother would often utilize it for disciplinary reasons."

Robin was unable to make any form of facial expression and his eyelids were unable to close, but Tharja knew that he was looking at her with murderous intent; the snake, even more so.

She leaned forward and whispered into his ear while he still had no chance to push her away. "You're acting strangely," she admitted. "You are far more cold and aggressive than you were when we first met. It makes wonder if that serpent is responsible for your obvious change in personality or if being alone in this forest for so long is the cause. Either way, I kind of like you better, now."

It was blatantly clear to the Mage that this information was probably only making Robin angrier with her. "Only a few hours of traveling with you and your new friend and I have already been forced to resort to this. Oh, my sweet Robin. Whatever shall I do with you?"

Tharja suddenly leaned even closer to her victim and ran her fingers through his white locks. She then loudly sniffed his hair for no reason that was clear to Robin. Tharja did not bother explaining her behavior. Instead, she lifted her dominant hand upward, allowing her palm to face the canopy overhead.

A swirling mass of dark energy collected in her palm once again. With a seductive visage, she gently blew this heinous mass towards Robin and Ghiaccio. As soon as her breath reached the energy in her hand, it took on a new form and almost resembled dust being blown in their direction.

Once it entered their lungs, the paralysis left their muscles. However, neither the man nor the snake had time to get up and retaliate. Fatigue immediately gripped them and their eyes promptly fell shut.

The Plegian Mage smiled at the duo who now slept on the ground before her. They were as quiet as her lifeless surroundings.

"A more appropriate question would be, what should I do _to_ you?"


	2. Night Shift

_Note: I initially intended for this chapter to be set for a later point in the story. However, I decided to move this chapter forward with the intent of providing the reader with a better understanding of the forest. It was also a much better introduction to Tharja's role than what I originally had planned._

* * *

 **Night Shift**

In a dark and lonely abode nestled deep within these ghostly woods, Ghiaccio sat on a dusty counter. The paralysis wore off shortly after Tharja had taken both him and Robin to this familiar place. The mansion in which the two had occupied as their own for a considerable amount of time.

The serpent observed Tharja from a safe distance with his body coiled in a defensive posture. He watched her with a cold and unforgiving daze. If she were just a few centimeters closer, he would have lunged forward and buried his fangs into her flesh. Unfortunately for Ghiaccio, she was not so eager to get anywhere near his striking range.

Tharja paced back and forth through this old room. She did not contrast very well in a room that was as pitch black as the outfit she wore. Tharja finally stopped her random walking and stood in the middle of one particularly dark corner of the room. With a smile on her face, she spoke to the serpent on the table.

"I am not sure how you've managed it," she announced with an emotionless glare. "But you seem to have Robin's ear. He listens to you."

"What's your point," the serpent hissed with a roll of his elliptical pupils. "You're clearly asking me for something even after paralyzing the both of us so just come out with it already!"

"I would like to make a deal with you, if at all possible," Tharja admitted. "It has become abundantly clear to me that you and Robin are attempting to achieve something. I have no idea what you plan on doing in the future, and it is of no concern to me. However, Robin himself is of my highest concern."

"Get on with it, woman," Ghiaccio growled.

Tharja sighed at the serpents agitated tone. As she let out a long breath, she recollected her thoughts before Ghiaccio's patience wore too thin.

"All I ask is that you help sway his opinion of me to a more positive light," she mumbled as she averted her eyes to the nearest window. "If you can do this, then I would be more than willing to assist you in whatever it is that you two are searching for."

The serpent snickered impishly at her request. "Aw, isn't that sweet," he mocked. "Personally, I like the idea, but it isn't fair. You may not realize this, but paralyzing someone and dragging them through a dark forest is not the best way to be making friends. It will be difficult, even for me. Luckily for you, I enjoy a good challenge, but I don't enjoy doing things for free. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"You want something in return," asked Tharja.

Ghiaccio's lips curled into a disturbing smile once she finally understood his intent. "Precisely. A little favor that shouldn't take too much of your time."

The snake turned away and slithered to the nearest window. He perked up and peered into the darkness outside. His attention immediately went to a narrow dirt road that led straight into a tree line covered in large thorny vines and fallen branches.

"Robin and I have run into a plethora of problems recently," Ghiaccio informed. "If you plan on staying here with us, then they will become your problems as well. One of these issues involves a thief who we've spotted recently but never could get a good look at him. He's been nabbing old junk from the back of the house. Most of what he takes is trash we have yet to burn, and I hate that kind of thing."

Tharja adopted a rather frightening grin at the mere thought of what Ghiaccio was alluding to. She gripped her tome tightly in her hands and glinted down to the numerous pages contained within it.

"I can take care of a lowly bottom feeder," Tharja commented with growing confidence. "Worry not. His fate will be slow and painful."

"Hey now," Ghiaccio warned. "Don't be so hasty. I don't want you to kill this person. A mere message to this individual should suffice. Robin and I had a plan to send this message but he never went through with it. Now I'm not sure if you know this but just down that road to the west is a woman's corpse. We stumbled upon her one day and neither of us knows what killed her. Robin thinks the Druids had something to do with it, but his paranoia is beside the point. What I want you to do is find her corpse and remove the head. Place the head on top of the burn pile we have out back. I'm sure he'll never come back if he sees that. If he does, then we will just have to find a more aggressive means of dealing with him."

"For Robin? It shall be done."

Her lack of hesitation caused Ghiaccio to laugh aloud. "Not so fast. It's too late to do it now. If I were you, I'd wait until the crack of dawn before heading outside again."

Tharja curiously tilted her head as she stared at the window behind Ghiaccio. Due to the thick canopy that covered the entire forest, it was almost impossible for her to tell night and day apart. It was not difficult to find the trail Ghiaccio was referring to as the glowing plants did a half-decent job of illuminating her environment.

She then glanced over her shoulder with slight apprehension. Ironically, it was far darker and unsettling inside this strange abode than it was outside.

"I do not understand," she bluntly muttered. "You have spoken several times of the horrors that lurk in these woods at night, yet I have seen none of it. I have wondered around at night before while I was still following you two around. Not once did I find anything dangerous."

"Robin was always more worried about it than I am," Ghiaccio sighed. "There are these beings we call Druids who occasionally leave their place of worship to wreak havoc on those who decide to wander from their homes in the dead of night. They normally kidnap these people and force them to perform in torturous or sexually deviant rituals. Afterward, they are killed off. It's the reason why Robin and I got into that argument before you paralyzed and dragged us back to this damn place."

"Well," the Dark Mage replied with an unfazed expression. "I shall take your advice and severe the woman's head tomorrow. For now, I suppose I will hunt for a place to rest up. Following you two on your creepy little adventures is rather tiresome."

With that, Tharja left the old kitchen and headed deeper into the manor in search of a comfortable location to dwell for the remainder of the evening. Ghiaccio rolled his eyes as soon as she left the room and whispered to himself.

" _You_ are calling _us_ creepy? Oh, the irony."

* * *

Ghiaccio slowly slithered up the winding stairwell until he made his way to the top floor. He slid through a nearby door that was just barely cracked open. Once inside, Ghiaccio instantly spotted Robin as he sat on an old bed.

He flicked his forked tongue a few times and smiled and whispered his name. No response came his way. Robin continued to mindlessly stare out the window with his thoughts lost in another realm altogether.

After several attempts to gain his attention, Ghiaccio sighed and lifted the tip of his tail high above his own head. He violently shook that small black rattle. The sound caused Robin to jump off of the bed and frantically turn towards the door. He gasped in relief at the familiar sight of the blue scaled snake that sat on the floor before him.

"Finally," Ghiaccio nagged after lowering his rattle. "I see you got control of your body again. How long have you been sitting there with your head up in the canopy?"

Robin glinted to the dark hallway behind Ghiaccio to ensure that the two were alone during this conversation. "Is she still here?"

"Oh yeah. Of course," Ghiaccio said with a detached smile. "But don't worry about it. I believe that you were right when you said she could be useful. Just recently I gave her a simple assignment to prove her worth and she eagerly agreed. That woman might just become the amoral drone I've been looking for."

"Please tell me this is a joke," Robin asked in astonishment. "Is it not enough that one of my former comrades is trying to murder us. Now, you want to allow that psychopath free rein in our house. She rendered our bodies useless and carried us all the way back here. Surely that is cause for alarm, Ghiaccio."

"Listen to you," the serpent said with a long sigh. "Just a few hours ago, you were insisting that we let her follow us. I must say, you were right when you claimed that she would do anything so long as I put your name at the end of the request. I got her dealing with that subhuman garbage who's been sneaking around here lately. We agreed that she could her join our little club if she succeeds."

Ghiaccio giggled at his own demented plot. "Just wait till you hear what I'm having her do to this poor sap."

Robin lowered his head into his palm to hide his frustration. A few seconds passed before his brain had a chance to fully process what was said.

The snake could easily sense Robin's distress and decided to intervene before he could offer any further resistance. "Look here, Robin. Because of you, we're being chased by that madwoman who obviously wants our heads. I think this is the best option for us. We need someone like Tharja. Someone who won't question the orders you give her. You were right the first time around, Robin. She's a useful tool so long as you take the time to work with her."

Out of everything Ghiaccio said, only one statement stuck out above the rest. Instead of addressing it, Robin ignored Ghiaccio's attempt to pin the blame on him. He averted his attention back to the floor and spoke softly.

"Please be right about this," he coldly whispered. "I would prefer not to wake up in the morning with a dagger to my throat."

* * *

In the darkest hours of the night, Tharja tiptoed through the derelict halls of her new home. Her legs brushed up against vines that were invading the manor through cracks in the floorboards. The further she moved towards the front door, the less she had to deal with cobwebs and overgrowth.

She reached the door after much frustration and exited the old mansion despite Ghiaccio's warning. Tharja then placed her hands on her hips and spent a moment taking in the nighttime atmosphere.

The air was cool and fresh. A far cry from the stale environment behind those rotting walls. Tharja felt as if she were the only living creature brave enough to wander outside at this hour. The silence was unnatural for such a lush world. The silence was almost unbearable. Not a single squeak could be heard in the surrounding area. None of the less, Tharja ignored the emptiness of the forest set off into the woods.

"No sense in waiting until tomorrow," she told herself. Tharja held up the knife she found on a counter inside the manor and stared at its dull blade.

With a look of worrying determination, Tharja marched on in search of the corpse Ghiaccio spoke of.

* * *

After spending almost twenty minutes searching down that same narrow path, Tharja finally managed to catch a whiff of death's vile stench. She followed it just off the dirt road and into a pile of thorny vines where she spotted her objective.

The corpse lied there underneath that pile of thorns. This body had been cut up by the sharp thorns that surrounded it. Tharja stared at it for a long time while she tried to determine the cause of death. The corpse had already gone through bloating and rigor mortis. Tharja could hear a strange chewing and squirming sound coming from the ground. When she knelt down she found several openings in the flesh where large amounts of maggots were feeding.

Tharja would not allow herself to be fazed by this disgusting sight. The smell was overpowering, but it was nothing she had not smelt before.

"They can have the head," she announced aloud as she held her knife high in the air. "But I can still make use of the rest of your body."

A crooked smile took form on her face as she brought the practically blunt knife down on her long dead victim's throat and began sawing at the hardened, rotting flesh. Tharja ignored the agonizingly slow process of cutting through dehydrated meat and instead focused on how many dark hexes she could weave after she found a secluded area to begin experimenting with the rest of the body. The Mage could tell that she had a rather long night ahead.

* * *

Ghiaccio spent the vast majority of the night watching Robin as he examined a map that illustrated the physical layout of the forest in between their current position and the river that acted as their target destination.

"I don't understand why you've busted out the map for this," Ghiaccio abruptly commented after about an hour of silent observation. "We know where it is so what's up with all of this tactical nonsense you're trying to employ?"

"You said Yvo's people are hostile to outsiders," said Robin. "With no _reliable_ backup, I would rather not go marching into an area where I am not wanted."

Ghiaccio quietly hissed at what he deemed to be nothing more than Robin's paranoia. He stretched his neck outward until his head was blocking Robin's view of the map. He stared at Robin in agitation. Robin could almost see his own reflection in those heartless orbs.

"How many times do I have to tell you," asked the serpent. "We'll meet up with some of Yvo's friends who patrol a certain section of the river. They know me so they should ignore you. Once we find Yvo, he'll take us further into their territory. I've done this kind of thing before. Trust me, it's fine. No harm could possibly come of it."

"Do you realize that those mere words are enough to spell doom for our entire trip?"

"Please don't start with that superstitious nonsense," Ghiaccio sighed. "This can't get any more straightforward. The only way this can go south is if Yvo manages to mess it up for us. His job is the most simple part of the whole ordeal, so I find that highly unlikely. So long as we see no further interruptions… like being paralyzed and dragged all the way back here. That would kinda piss me off."

Robin nodded understandingly. He soon stood up and exhaled in defeat. Arguing with his reptilian comrade was clearly the only reward he would gain from studying the map. As he moved away from the desk and to his worn out bed, Ghiaccio perked his head up and scanned the room.

"Hey," he asked, causing Robin to glint at him from over his shoulder. He could see Ghiaccio repeatedly poking the air with his tongue. A curious sight that left Robin furrowing a brow in confusion.

"Do you smell that," Ghiaccio continued. "Ugh, did something die in here?"

The sound of an uncomfortably comical giggle distracted Robin before he had a chance to truly take in the smells around him.

He and Ghiaccio turned to the doorway to find a dark figure standing in the hall outside of their room.

"I do apologize for my odor, but it was unavoidable," Tharja's voice rang out through the darkness. "The task you assigned to me has been done," she stated after slowly stepping into the dim candlelight that barely illuminated Robin's room.

She had an odd smile on her face and the fact that Robin could not see her eyes which were hidden underneath the shadow of her bangs did not help with this rather creepy sight.

Ghiaccio seemed to have noticed the same sight as when Robin glanced towards him, he found that the snake had slithered to the opposite end of the desk with the intent on clearing as much distance from this madwoman as possible.

Tharja hid her strange smile behind her tome and peeked at Robin from the top of it. "It took me some time to find the burn pile you spoke of. However, when I did, I was sure to leave the head on top of the trash you two had yet to set ablaze. As for the rest of the corpse, I am… _making use of it_. I hope no one minds if I take over the cellar."

"Oh, yeah," Ghiaccio hesitantly remarked with a forced laugh. His tone was apprehensive and it was clear to Robin that the serpent was just as shaken up by this horrifying encounter. "You can do whatever you want with the body and feel free to use the cellar. We're really proud of you, Tharja."

Tharja's smirk grew at the sound of this appraisal. Despite Ghiaccio being the one to congratulate her, she never took her eyes off of Robin. "Nothing to it, really. As I said many times before, I would do absolutely anything for you, Robin."

" _Thanks_ ," was the only response Robin managed to muster.

"Well, I should go wash the scent of decay off," Tharja concluded. The Mage gave Robin a flirtatious wink and stepped back into the darkness. "I must say, though, this truly is a wonderful time. Being all alone with you… in the middle of an unknown forest… with no one else around. Is it not delightful?"

Robin smiled and nodded his head. Satisfied with his reaction, Tharja skipped merrily down the hall and out of his sight. As soon as she was gone, Robin slowly turned to Ghiaccio with a look of pure terror. They both had that same expression. For the longest time, neither one was willing to break the silence for fear that she might still be listening to them.

Eventually, Ghiaccio managed to muster up the courage to pierce this tyrannical silence. "Lock the door and blow out the candles," he promptly requested. "We leave at sunrise."

No resistance was met on the matter. Robin did exactly as told and the duo hid in that room for the remainder of this long, drawn out night with nothing more than the inevitable prospect of dawn to grant them comfort.


	3. Weird House

**Weird House**

The next day was a welcome change to that creepy little manor nestled somewhere deep within a dark forest. It was just as dimly lit as always in these woods due to the impenetrable canopy of leaves overhead.

With Ghiaccio coiled around his neck, Robin stood in front of an old cellar door just outside of the mansion. It was barely cracked open as the thing was too rotted and broken down to be properly sealed shut. The duo hesitantly stared at the door. Robin refused to step forward and Ghiaccio showed no signs of moving ahead without him.

More than enough time passed for Ghiaccio to make up his mind about the current situation. He hissed at Robin, but the tactician remained unmoved by these vile noises.

"Just go down there and see what she's doing," Ghiaccio asserted with a quick movement of his blackened tongue.

"I most certainly will not," Robin proclaimed. "If you find yourself so curious, then why can you not slither on down there yourself?"

Ghiaccio giggled at the thought of such a preposterous suggestion. "The idea is for you to go down there so that I don't have to. I don't want that foul necromancy in my house! Summoning an ancient deity from the pits of a realm long forgotten isn't good in the eyes of realtors! I would know, I've tried. The place comes with free demons but those new age bastards say that demonic energy actually devalues the house! Can you believe that?"

Ghiaccio hesitated when he came to the realization that their conversation had somehow managed to trail far from their most relevant problem. He recomposed himself after his outburst and gazed into the abyss that was his cellar.

"Anyway, she's _your_ stalker so you deal with it."

"Fair enough," Robin conceded. "What exactly do you want me to do?"

The serpent growled under his breath. Robin's lack of cooperation only proved to frustrated Ghiaccio even more than the idea of whatever was going on below their feet. "Is it not obvious," asked Ghiaccio. "Get your useless ass down there and tell her that if she wants to practice those dark rituals then she needs to do it somewhere else! Seriously! The entire house smells like death because of her!"

"As you wish," Robin sighed. He then knelt down and bowed his head so that Ghiaccio would have a much easier time sliding himself off of Robin's shoulders. Once the serpent was safely on the ground, Robin stood upright and gulped hard at the thought of what was going on behind that old door.

"If I fail to return within the next hour..."

Ghiaccio immediately interrupted Robin with a careless roll of his eyes. "If you don't return then I'll just have breakfast without you. No big deal."

"Truly, you are my greatest friend, Ghiaccio," Robin grumbled before heading down into the cellar.

* * *

The basement was as dark and dingy as Robin suspected it would be. He tripped over random garbage on his way down a cramped corridor. A closed off door lied just ahead. Robin could see slivers of light shining through creases around the door. Robin continued down the hall until he reached the only obvious room Tharja could be lurking in.

He took a deep breath and pushed the door open. The dim light of various candles shined on him as he entered the room. Robin was just as utterly mortified as he predicted when he was given a chance to take in his new surroundings.

Strange sigils were drawn on the ground in dried wax presumably from the candles that were already lit. The most disturbing sight in this whole room was easily the headless corpse lying in the middle of the floor. Not but a few feet away were a couple buckets which were brimming with starving maggots.

Robin reeled in disgust. He placed his hand over his mouth in a desperate endeavor to prevent himself from vomiting right then and there. The stench was overpowering. Simply being in this room was bringing tears to his eyes.

In the midst of his dry-heaving, Robin heard a gentle voice calling out to him from behind. In shock, he leaped forward and twirled around when he heard his name being spoken. Leaning against the wall was Tharja's vague outline. Her face was almost completely obscured by shadows and her sinister looking smile was only making matters worse.

"I was not expecting _you_ to visit me down here," Tharja whispered. "Especially not alone. For awhile, I found myself worrying if you had grown to hate me for the events of yesterday. Do you hate me, Robin?"

He ignored this odd question. Not even a second of being around her and he was already frustrated. "Just clean this up and come join us for breakfast. Ghiaccio and I will be leaving soon and I assume you will want to follow us on our journey."

"Why do you follow the every whim of that snake," asked Tharja, ignoring Robin's previous inquiry.

Just as Tharja ignored his concerns, Robin ignored her out-of-the-blue question. "I also ventured down here to inform you that Ghiaccio no longer wishes for you to continue with… whatever it is that you are doing. The smell is beginning to fester in the upper floors and it is quite grotesque. Burn the body or take it somewhere else."

"Convenient timing," Tharja murmured as she took a step forward. "I spent all night working on this new hex and I recently completed it. Would you like to hear about the effects of said hex?"

"Not interested."

Robin hesitated in delivering Ghiaccio's message. He noticed the way Tharja lowered her head in disappointment. It was such a calculative move on her part and it worked very well. Robin cursed himself for falling for such a manipulative tactic.

"Alright," he sighed. "Perhaps I would be more interested once we get rid of this awful smell. Clean up your mess and meet us in the dining room. Once we eat, we'll set out to find Ghiaccio's friend. I will fill you in on the purpose of this trip once we are en route."

* * *

Hidden within a tree line far behind the manor was a small group of armed individuals. One of which had a rather fancy looking sword and a head of shaggy blue hair. A heavily armored knight crept up to him, moving brush and foliage out of his way as he went.

The blue-haired man turned to this knight with a concerned expression. "Frederick," he softly spoke. "Milord. Do you honestly believe this manor to be suitable as a resting place?"

"It may be a creepy little abode," Chrom agreed. "But it looks abandoned and is a much better alternative to sleeping outside in unfamiliar territory."

In that moment, Chrom heard movement in the brush to his right. He glinted over his shoulder to see another familiar face crawling on the ground beside him. This man carried a bow and quiver on his back and wore a stylish blue outfit.

With a confident smile, he pushed himself off the ground and peeked over a nearby shrub to get a better view of the manor. "I would disagree with you on that, good sir," the archer informed after a melodramatic sigh. "Perhaps it is just my flawless eyesight that was honed from years of mastering the bow, but I do believe I have spotted something quite macabre there in the distance."

"What are you going on about, Virion," asked Chrom. "I see nothing but a vacant mansion up ahead."

"Look further, Chrom, and you shall see what I see," Virion mocked and pointed toward the manor. "There is a pile of ash just behind the house. Now, I may need a closer look, but it appears that someone has placed a decapitated head on a pike."

"If this is true," Frederick murmured. "Then that would definitely be a bit of a red flag in my book. Perhaps we should rethink our approach or better yet, retreat altogether as we have no idea what horrors exist within those old walls."

Chrom squinted his eyes in a vain attempt to find this alleged head. He could see what looked to be a burn pile and there was something looming over it, but he was unable to get a clear look at it. He then turned back to the numerous other soldiers behind him. There were five of them in total, not counting himself, Virion or Frederick.

He examined the few comrades that he was able to reunite with in this odd forest. Among him was his sister Lissa, the mercenary Gregor, the former vassal Cherche, Vaike, Chrom's apparent rival, and finally, a self-proclaimed comedian named Henry. All of these individuals remained hidden behind some form of foliage while being as quiet as humanly possible.

Chrom averted his gaze back to the manor before him and announced his plan. "Frederick and Virion will go and investigate the property, everyone else will stay here. We will provide backup if needed."

"It will be done," Frederick announced as he picked his lance off the ground and stood up. His undying loyalty was no surprise to Chrom, but Virion was not so quick to follow this unnerving order.

"Wait," the archer exclaimed. "Why send me up there? My keen and unmatched skills would be better suited here where I can observe as much of the property as possible."

"Enough," Frederick interrupted. "Let's go so we can get this over with."

Virion gave up this futile debate and followed Frederick toward the manor. As the two set off to complete their objective, Chrom called out to them with one final warning.

"Don't stray from my sight! Inspect the property for that head and try to find the whereabouts of any potential residents!"

After the duo had begun their mission, Henry crawled out from his hiding spot and tapped Chrom on the shoulder. Chrom glared at him in anticipation for what the young man was about to say.

"Hey, Chrom," he giggled. "Would you say they are… _heading off?_ "

* * *

Frederick's first stop was by that pike Virion claimed to be impaling a severed human head. Surely enough, when they grew closer, Frederick looked on in horror at a decaying head. It was difficult for him to determine the gender of the person this head was attached to as most of the face had been thoroughly chewed up by maggots, but he assumed it to be female given the head's long hair. The eyes were long gone and so were the eyelids for that matter. There were a few stains of old blood on the pike, but nothing more.

Virion scanned their surroundings for any signs of movement. Luckily, not a single shrub was stirring. The backyard to this mansion was uncomfortably still. The darkness was not helping either. Even with the property completely devoid of trees, the canopy still found a way of encroaching in on the mansion from overhead and shielded the area from sunlight. If it were not for the glowing flora, it would be near impossible to see anything.

"In all your days of fighting off bandits and other vile foes, have you ever encountered something of this nature," asked Virion.

"Only in horror stories," Frederick muttered in disgust. "I do not want to quarrel with the vile souls who reside here. Be careful in your approach. Look through the windows and see if you can find anything else that would indicate this mansion being occupied. If you feel even the slightest sensation of being watched, let me know and we will retreat back to the tree line."

"Then we should probably just go ahead and retreat," Virion sighed. "I've had this feeling ever since I woke up to these looming trees and sparkles of blue neon. I feel as though the forest itself is watching us with sinister intent."

Frederick pressed on despite Virion's paranoia. Virion took out his bow and prepared to defend himself.

Frederick slowly approached a cracked window and peered into the house. He could not make out exactly what he was looking at. Aside from the darkness, there was so much old junk lying around inside. He soon found an open door towards the back of this room but he was unable to see anything useful in the hallway outside.

Virion crept up to the window on Frederick's left. This room was hardly any different. It was devoid of life and light. Cobwebs lined the walls and ceilings. Dust was abundant in layers no matter where Virion looked.

With nothing else to see, Virion leaned away from the window and approached Frederick.

"I'm going to take a peek around the corner of the house," the archer informed in a hushed voice. "Perhaps there will be something worth seeing there."

As he started off for the nearest corner, Frederick nodded in approval. "Just don't go too far out of sight."

"Yes, yes," he grumbled before moving on.

Virion crept forward with one hand on the wall at all times. His heels were always the first to touch the ground. He flinched every time he felt his foot crush a twig underneath him. Once he made it to the other side of the mansion, Virion leaned against the wall and tilted his head to see what lied beyond. The archer could not help but gasp after his nostrils picked up a horrific odor. The same stench came during the aftermath of every battle he had fought through.

The overwhelming aroma of death's cold embrace.

* * *

After declaring the backside of the property to be devoid of life, Chrom ordered the others to move up and scour the rest of the vicinity. Most of the group moved on to the front entrance and began searching the interior of the mansion whereas Lissa decided to stay outside.

She stared at the disembodied head in intimidation. She hid behind her staff and examined the grotesque scene. Maggots fell from the bottom of the neck, and old blood occasionally dripped out onto the pike.

She was so captivated by this monument of death that she failed to spot Henry approaching her from the left. He skipped merrily up to the pike and placed his hand on the head, digging his fingers into its wiry hair.

" _Ew_ ," Lissa squirmed. "Don't touch it!"

Henry laughed aloud and patted the head like he would do to a dog or small child. "What is it they say about people who wouldn't remember their own head if it was not attached to their own shoulders?"

"That isn't funny," Lissa argued. "We need to give this person a proper burial, not play with the body parts!"

Her retort was quickly silenced when Henry started pushing the head upwards. She furrowed a brow at his actions and took a few steps back. "Wait. What are you doing?"

To her horror, Henry pushed the head off of the pike and shoved his right hand up its neck like some sort of demented puppet. He then shoved the thing into her face and laughed manically. "I think this person just want's a little kiss. Go on. Fulfill a poor soul's final wish."

"No, back off," Lissa ordered. She darted away before Henry could get too close with his new toy.

"Hold on a minute," Henry called out before running after her. "I have yet to finish my routine! You'll miss the punchline!"

* * *

Chrom stood near the front entrance to the manor. He and his other comrades remained completely oblivious to his sister's torment. Frederick was the last to exit the house. He stepped out of the shadows and leaned his lance against the wall to the right of the door.

The knight placed his hands behind his back and stood at attention. "I finished securing my section of the manor. The third floor is completely empty, but I have found evidence of recent occupancy. Namely, a bedroom that has been left in a much better condition than the rest of the abode. Milord, while I do understand the plight of having to continue surviving in these very hostile woods without a shelter, I must advise you once again to reconsider setting up quarters here. Someone made the conscious effort to mount a woman's head on a metal spike in the backyard. That fact should speak volumes in of itself."

Cherche smiled and gave Chrom an agreeable nod. "Perhaps Frederick is right. I, _personally_ , would prefer to sleep outside as opposed to residing in the same house as a person who insists on decorating their lawn with human body parts. Granted, I do enjoy the aesthetic of this place, but decapitation is a little too extreme for my taste."

"A fair point," Chrom declared. He placed his hand to his chin in contemplation. Suddenly, an idea was born from the depths of his inner thoughts. "Alright, it clearly is not a good idea to stay here lest we want to wake up in the morning with our heads all impaled on that pike in the back. For now, we will retreat back into the wilderness and keep a close eye on the manor. If no one returns within the next day or so, we will revisit the topic of seeking shelter here. Agreed?"

The sound of nearby screams interrupted their conversation. The group took up arms and faced the west in unison. Not a moment later and Lissa was seen running around the corner and straight at them with tears in her eyes.

"Chrom," she exclaimed in pure terror. "Make him stop!"

"Make who stop, Sis," asked Chrom. "And where is Henry? Wasn't he with you?"

"Right here, Chrom," a voice shouted from around the same corner Lissa was so desperate to retreat from.

Chrom looked up from his distressed sister and spotted a rather horrifying sight. Henry stepped out of hiding with his arm in the air. He held the decapitated head up in the air with his fist buried in the flesh of its neck as if it were a ventriloquist's dummy.

Henry giggled at the look on Chrom's face. "Now this is what I call a talking head."

Chrom slowly exhaled and looked up to the canopy. "Gods," he whispered. "Why…?"

Virion bent over and gagged as he desperately held back the urge to vomit. Seeing it on a pike was nowhere near as brutal and disgusting as the sight of someone shoving their entire hand up its throat.

Frederick averted his eyes away from Henry and did his utmost to compose himself. "Where should we position ourselves," he pondered aloud, ignoring his demented comrade. "I'd request that you at least not place me anywhere near Henry and his new friend."

"This will be difficult," Chrom admitted. "We must be able to keep an eye on every possible entrance to the manor as well as remain in close proximity to each other."

Chrom looked to Vaike and crossed his arms in anticipation. "I sent you to inspect that dirt road leading off into the woods. Did you find anything worth looking into?"

"Nah," Vaike sighed. "It just led to a dead end."

"If only our favorite tactician were here," Virion struggled to inform in between his gagging and coughing.

Chrom nodded his head. He then turned to towering mansion that gave the already menacing forest an even more diabolical appearance. It was constructed entirely out of rusted metal and rotted wood. He could see paths where termites have crawled their way into the walls. Failed colonies were everywhere. Chrom wondered if it was the oppressive atmosphere that drove the insects away or the people who lived here.

He turned back to the small group of soldiers that surrounded him. Cherche stood tall, gripping her ax tightly. Her attention was locked onto the canopy above, she constantly searched for something whenever she had a free moment. Chrom had no doubt that she was still trying to find her beloved Minerva who was just as absent as Frederick's horse.

Virion was slowly recovering from his close encounter with a violent episode of sickness. Vaike and Lissa both gawked at the disembodied head and Frederick stood before him with his iconic look of determination.

"Well, he isn't here so we are left solving this issue for ourselves," Chrom reminded his only remaining archer. "Everyone, fall back. Just find a location that you believe to be convenient and be on guard. For all we know, someone could be watching us from the shadows."

* * *

Robin marched through the woods after having left the manor some time ago. Ghiaccio's body was tightly coiled around his throat and Tharja stalked them both from behind. She toyed with a single strand of hair that she had recently plucked from the back of Robin's head during a moment when Ghiaccio had him distracted.

Glowing roots and vines illuminated their path. Otherworldly lights danced in the background. A sight to behold and yet Tharja's eyes were eternally glued to a worthless stray hair. She listened closely to every word of the conversation going on in front of her for clues about everything Ghiaccio and Robin refused to outright say in her presence.

"Here's to a successful trip," Ghiaccio cheered to the leafy heavens. "May we experience no more interruptions. To any divine beings who can hear our pleas. No more interruptions. Anything but that."

"Agreed," Robin added. His eyes were practically shut in relaxation, satisfied with the fact that they were able to resume their travels at long last. It was nothing more than blind luck that he had not tripped over an outcropping root as of yet.

A smile broke out across Robin's face. There was a gentle breeze moving in between the trees and cooling him off in an otherwise humid climate. The forest was more lively at this time of day which enabled Robin to hear strange sounds from animals of unknown species.

The former Shepherd stopped dead in his tracks. Tharja bumped into him without paying attention, dropping his strand of hair in the process. Robin ignored her clumsiness. He glared down at the dark soil. He felt more of a connection to it than he could ever feel for the lands of Ylisse. He turned around and examined Tharja.

She shifted uneasily under his gaze. Tharja held her hands together in front of her chest as if she were still holding that large tome she often kept on her person. "What," she bluntly asked after growing tired of the awkward silence.

"I have a question."

"Ask away," Tharja murmured.

Robin thought about a way to word this question so that it would come off as less confusing than how it sounded in his head. "You do a lot with hexes and other forms of bizarre magic," Robin announced.

Tharja glanced to the right. She wondered when the question was going to come into play.

"What of it?"

"Have you ever tried to experiment with a form of hex or any spell for that matter that could erase something or someone from existence without ever leaving a trace of the event behind?"

Tharja tilted her head. The Dark Mage was puzzled by his inquiry. She shook her head at Robin who merely shrugged in response and turned around.

She mentally cursed herself for giving such a straightforward and disappointing answer despite this being one of the only times her target for obsession has ever asked her for anything. Tharja swiftly thought of something to add which would at least recapture his attention for a short time.

"Can you explain this concept a little better for me," she queried. Tharja spoke with slight excitement in her tone. "I find it hard to grasp."

"Don't tell me you've been digging up the old papers in the manor," Ghiaccio dismissively interrupted. His words angered Tharja greatly. She did not take kindly to what she interpreted as his attempt at silencing Robin.

Robin nodded to confirm the snake's accusation. "I have. They are quite interesting. Did you know the person who wrote them? Are they still around somewhere?"

"Of course I knew her," Ghiaccio explained as if this was common knowledge. "The woman who originally owned the manor you and I now call home. It was a family estate back in the day. She died some twelve years ago. I've been living in her home ever since."

"I see," the tactician whispered in disappointment. "How did she die?"

"I killed her. She was the only heir to the family's property. Everyone else who had access to it died off long before I met her and a couple other friends of hers."

Ghiaccio spoke in such a cold and detached manner. Normally when he spoke of such dark topics, he would smile and laugh as he spoke. A facade that Robin assumed was intended to trivialize such matters, but now, the serpent refused to show any emotion.

"Were you after the wealth," asked Robin. "Is that why you killed her?"

The snake finally broke his emotionless composure just to laugh aloud at Robin's wild accusation. "Hell no," Ghiaccio argued. "What use would I have for money? Most of the valuables have been stolen over the years and I couldn't give a shit about any of it. I just didn't like her or any of her stupid little friends for that matter. So, in the dead of night, I slithered into her room and sunk my fangs into her throat. She died the next day."

"What happened to her friends," Robin pressed further. "Are any of them still alive."

"Nope," the snake said, shooting down any hope Robin had of learning more about what he read in those old documents. "It was the strangest thing really. One day, they all just killed each other. Tensions were very high after one of them died. The owner got sick with my venom, and they all snapped at around the same time. Their bodies can still be dug up in the backyard if you're that damn curious. The only man to survive that brawl ended up getting killed a few days later. And that's pretty much where the story ends so stop asking me about it!"

Robin fell silent at long last. Ghiaccio breathed in heavily after having to give away certain bits of information that he would much rather keep secret. Ghiaccio then craned his neck until he was facing Tharja after putting all of Robin's questions to rest. She was still waiting for someone return to the initial topic that sparked this whole spiel of history that bared no meaning in her eyes.

"Oh, Robin was just talking about a theory some old nut-job had," Ghiaccio dismissively informed. "She believed in this idea that there were cosmic voids which brought an end to anything they touched. Pure pits of darkness that sucked in everything around them. Naturally, such a thing would be the most destructive force in existence."

Tharja thought back on everything she had learned over the years while training in Plegia. Even when Robin and Ghiaccio were already moving on towards the river while talking about other, more lighthearted subjects, Tharja continued to inquire her own memories about something even remotely similar to such a force.

Her skills consisted of changing something in the environment of her target or her target itself. The vast majority of her hexes related to slow and painful suffering as her practices mostly reflect her preferences in combat. She had heard of lethal and instantaneous hexes being used before, but nothing to the magnitude of simply erasing something from existence.

"Robin," she interrupted, putting an immediate hiatus on his current chat with Ghiaccio. He stopped once again. Both Robin and Ghiaccio turned and gave her their undivided attention.

"What you spoke of earlier sounds more like the manipulation of physical space rather than a mere hex," she said with a growing smile. "But imagine. Having the power to erase any obstacle that lies in your way. If you want, I can look into it further. I already find myself enthralled with the idea."

"Sure," Robin stated with a smile that seemed more genuine the Tharja's diabolical grin. "We can research it together after we return to the manor."

For an instant, Tharja was stunned. His persona changed completely for a split second and she was reminded of his common behavior before they wound up lost in this tranquil forest. She lowered her head causing her bangs to cast an ominous shadow over her face. As Robin turned away and resumed his conversing with Ghiaccio, she whispered something to him so softly that he was unable to hear it.

"I'll look forward to it."


	4. Thalassophobia

_Note: This chapter was intended to be much more eventful, but I decided to push said events back until the next one. I decided to publish a smaller chapter until the next release to add a few quirks to Tharja's development and introduce one of the minor factions of the forest as well as address their dangerously advanced arsenal. I will talk more about that in the following notation to avoid minor spoilers to this chapter._

* * *

 **Thalassophobia**

By nightfall, Ghiaccio had successfully led his two companions to a river that linked the horizons. There was no one to render their bodies useless or cause for any other interruptions to their day-long voyage.

Robin let his feet soak in the calm waters while Ghiaccio sat coiled up on a rock next to him. Tharja was somewhere nearby. Robin assumed she went off to hide in a bush and watch him from an unseen vantage point.

Ghiaccio and Robin watched the opposite bank. Artificial lights broke the pattern of the endless green and neon blue color pallet that tinted the forest. Despite Ghiaccio's promise of more civilization existing on the other side of the river, Robin could not see any constructs such as buildings or forts. The occasional amber glows hidden behind the trees was the only hint of a town.

"I'll head across in the next hour or so," Ghiaccio informed. "I want you and Tharja to stay here until I return."

"Shouldn't there be people here," asked Robin. "I'm not seeing any houses."

"This area is crawling with the Lost Ones," Ghiaccio bluntly elaborated. "Most of what lies beyond the water are military camps which were constructed with the intention of remaining hidden from the eyes of humans such as yourselves. I'm going to find Yvo myself. You two are going to stay here, so don't worry about it."

Robin tilted his head in confusion. This was not the plan Ghiaccio was thinking up back at the mansion. He almost took offense by the mere thought of being left behind and out of the way as if he were a liability to the serpent.

"Are you joking!? We came along on this trip to meet your friend. Now, you expect me to wait here on the sidelines!? Must I remind you of that vile woman chasing us? Lucina has attempted to assassinate you ever since we met. She could be watching us right now. Waiting for you to stray from my sight. I will not allow you to go alone."

"This isn't up for debate," the serpent snapped. "Yeah, I could let you tag along, but that would be a pain in the ass. The Lost Ones hate humans. The duties of the army now primarily consist of the systematic extermination and _occasional_ subjection of your kind. Yes, I've got serious connections to one particular squad and the commanding officer of an entire division but that's it. My friends wouldn't give you guys any trouble because I'd be with you, but I can't say the same for anyone who's unfamiliar with me. So just stay here and let me handle it. If that bitch Lucina has any intelligence at all, she'll know to stay away from the northern banks."

Robin offered no further resistance, but his curiosity was far from sated. Ghiaccio's initial plan was no longer making any sense to him. "I thought you said the whole point was for your friend to guide us past the checkpoints along the river. Why do you insist on carrying on without us?"

"True," Ghiaccio agreed with a nod of his head. "But I'm going in to make contact with Yvo alone. When we sort things out, we'll come back for you and Tharja. If I'm right, the old temple we're searching for isn't that far up ahead, but we still need clearance or else those long-eared bastards are going to swarm us the moment we set foot on the banks. Well… I should say they'll swarm _you_ but the results are the same for the both of us."

"Fine," Robin huffed. "Tharja and I will remain here until you return. For your sake, I just hope a certain someone doesn't try to interfere."

* * *

Some time after Ghiaccio left, Tharja crawled out of her hiding place and approached Robin from behind. She stood up off the ground and bared down on him with her dark eyes. Robin heard the stirring of roots and foliage from behind. He turned and stared up at his stalker and examined every feature of her expression, wondering if her intent was hostile or friendly. When concerning her, it was always so difficult for Robin to differentiate the two.

"Alone at last," she whispered as she leaned forward, penetrating his sphere of personal space.

Robin quickly scooted away from her, but Tharja only saw this as an opportunity to occupy the space provided. She sat down and scanned the river for any sign of a certain blue snake slithering across the surface of the water.

"This is going to sound like an odd question," Robin warned, already changing the subject of being alone with her before it even had a chance to manifest. "But does the name Morgan ring any bells with you?"

"Nope."

Robin had come to expect such simple answers from her. She showed no interest in either of the two terms, as a result, the strange question was swiftly forgotten when the conversation shifted to more pressing matters.

"I find myself surprised," Tharja informed.

"What could be so surprising?"

"Oh, just the fact that Ghiaccio's actions are failing to add up. Surely, you have taken note of this," Tharja said in a teasing tone. "What I have been able to gather given the limited information that has been made apparent to me suggests our serpent friend might not be completely honest with us. He claimed just moments ago to have connections with a commander yet he is enlisting some dumb grunt to guide us to… wherever it is that you two want to go. He claims this is all to obtain clearance so why not use the more influential ally to achieve this?"

Robin groaned loudly and laid against the ground with his arms wrapped around the back of his head. He wanted nothing more than to stare up at the endless sea of stars and distant worlds, but he quickly remembered how impossible of a task that had become with the forest's oppressive canopy always looming over him.

It was a minor slip up, and he was not sure if this was all intentional or not. However, one thing remained certain to him. After being paralyzed and dragged halfway through the woods. Sleeping for exactly two hours during the previous night, and walking all day, the idea of wading through these waters to inform Ghiaccio of his mistake were not exactly appealing to him.

He sighed and glinted in Tharja's direction. "Can I get you to do me a huge favor," he politely pleaded.

Tharja breathed deeply and gave him a slightly seductive grin. Judging by the look on her face, it was blindingly obvious that she was already one step ahead of his little scheme. "Robin, I would do anything for you, but not right now. I will remain right here for the time being. You can address these concerns with that snake after he's slithered his way back to us."

Robin could not argue with her idea. He considered how tired she must be given her lack of sleep due to her borderline necromantic research and how tiring it must have been to pull his motionless body back to the mansion. That was a detail he would never allow himself to forget, or forgive for that matter.

* * *

Ghiaccio reached the opposite end of the river and slithered up the bank. He turned back to ensure he was not being followed by either his comrades or the alleged enemy stalking his every move. To his relief, the waters were clear of activity lest for the path of gentle ripples he made crossing over.

Satisfied with the lack of movement on the water, Ghiaccio slithered onward. He left the river bank behind and looked out to the forest floor ahead of him. He could already hear cheerful voices from behind the rows of trees that separated him from an encampment of familiar faces. His tongue tasted the scent of smoke coming from a nearby campfire.

The snake hissed to himself at the thought of having to deal with a bunch of obnoxious soldiers. None of the less, he rolled his eyes and moved forward.

* * *

Ghiaccio soon found the source of laughter when he slithered out of the darkness and into the light of a campfire. Surrounding the bright fiery glow was a group of individuals dressed in matching black tunics, riding pants, and tall marching boots. All of them were around the same height, that being exactly six feet. An odd detail, but not quite as odd as their more notable features.

Each of them had a head of blond hair, blue eyes, and a pair of long ears. Their complexions were pale to an unhealthy degree as if they had never been exposed to sunlight before. The frames of these soldiers were all very feminine and slender despite their gender.

Ghiaccio spent no time taking in the appearances of these 'Lost Ones' as they were old news to him. Instead, he listened closely to their conversation before ever making his presence known to them.

"Still can't believe this," one of them mumbled over the crackling sound of the fire. "Did those morons really think they could charge a freaking MG nest in heavy metal armor like the Druids? These people had no projectiles on 'em at all. It was insane!"

"No idea, Heinrich," another soldier replied with a confused shrug. He then gestured to his comrade on the other side of the campfire. "Hans wiped all of them out before they could even cross the river. None of them fired back. They really tried to take our position with swords and axes."

Ghiaccio giggled aloud after he decided that he had heard enough. "Sounds like bad times," he laughed, causing the soldiers to leap to their feet in shock.

It took them awhile before one of them finally looked down to see the familiar serpent staring up at them with a wide smile.

"Ghiaccio," a soldier questioned in shock. "You scared us half to death! We could have killed you!"

"Oh, I'm so frightened," the snake cockily teased. "I'll be sure to remember that for next time. Anyway, I came here to see Yvo, and hopefully Elzene. Imagine my disappointment when I come crawling through here only to find that neither of these two people are around."

"If it's Director Elzene you're after," one of the men replied. "Then you'll have to wait till next week. Don't know if she'll have time to talk to some dumb reptile, though. She's leading a huge force to secure the other side of the river. As for Yvo, well, I haven't seen him since this morning. He's been running off into the woods without telling anyone what he's up too."

Ghiaccio winced in rage at this unfortunate news. "What do you mean he's gone missing!? I sent a message to him a couple days ago and he responded. Yvo said he wouldn't do anything stupid until _after_ I got what I came for. Where did he go?"

"Somewhere in the woods behind me," Heinrich informed with a sigh. "He's wandered off repeatedly for no clear reason. No clue what's going on with him lately."

"This is fantastic," Ghiaccio complained in a sarcastic tone. "You ask somebody to wait for you and they just don't do it. Love that guy."

The serpent lowered his head in disappointment. He had finally made it all the way to the river from his manor, and there was still one more hurdle in his way. Ghiaccio thought back to Tharja and hissed in sheer disdain. Were it not for her, he probably would have been given a chance to catch Yvo before he ran off.

"I think I'm gonna kill her tonight," he thought to himself.

He swiftly wiped the idea from his head when he was reminded of something interesting that was said earlier. Ghiaccio found himself intrigued by the events that transpired hours before he reached the river and could not help but inquire these men about them.

"So what's Elzene's story? You guys said there would be some action here in the next week, right? Why is that? I also overheard you talking about something that happened this morning. Care to elaborate?"

One of the soldiers exhaled loudly lowered his head. He stared at the fire and smiled in disbelief as to what his own eyes witnessed. "It was the craziest thing," he explained. "We were patrolling the banks as usual when Heinrich spotted movement on the other side. These random guys then start charging out of nowhere. The weirdest thing was that they had metal armor, and wielded swords and axes. Hans ended up being the hero when he laid down and opened fire. Those rounds shredded through their plating. Reminds me why we don't use armor like that anymore."

Hans leaned forward and held up his weapon with pride. "They were such easy targets. It was almost sad. They got into the water and couldn't move, probably thanks to their armor being so heavy. It took all of ten minutes to wipe them out."

"Such a weird time we live in," Ghiaccio mumbled. "To think that a bunch of knights could just charge out from the shadows... Did they say anything? What's the story?"

"Before charging us, one of them yelled something about these woods now belonging to his emperor or some stupid shit like that," Heinrich huffed with a careless shrug. "Guess it still belongs to us because those sword wielding lambs went straight into the slaughter. It was actually so anticlimactic that it was almost hilarious."

"What about Elzene," asked Ghiaccio. "Why is she going nuts?"

"Reports of human activity have been increasing recently and everyone is bored out of their mind. That's really all there is to it. Come next week, an armored division will be moving through these parts, killing anything that ain't us."

Ghiaccio groaned at the news. He was hoping for something good to happen after all of the nonsense that transpired yesterday. Unfortunately, fate was not smiling down upon him on this humid night.

"Whatever," Ghiaccio snapped. "I'll deal with Yvo tomorrow. I don't have the patience to go looking for him tonight."

"Don't blame you," Heinrich muttered. "If we see him in between now and when you come back, I'll be sure to let him remind him that you've been looking for him."

* * *

Tharja and Robin laid there on the ground in that same exact spot ever since Ghiaccio left.

Neither person said anything to the other due to a dangerous combination of their own exhaustion and the oppressive atmosphere of a forest that demanded silence. The atmosphere itself did not bother Tharja in the same way it completely destroyed Robin's confidence. He never spoke too loudly when outside the walls of Ghiaccio's mansion. Tharja took a special interest in this rather minute detail.

He outright refused to disturb the tranquility of the woods. Tharja thought back to the wilderness of Ylisse beyond the Plegian deserts. Even in the dead of night, they were filled with the cries and howls of busy animals and insects, but this forest was very different. On the extremely rare occurrence when she actually heard some strange animal, the howl was always muffled as if its curator was too nervous to draw attention to itself.

There seemed to be a universal code the inhabitants followed. An unspoken rule to never scream or shout unless Death himself was already looming over you with his iconic scythe to your throat. When she truly thought back on the matter, ever since she woke up lost in the forest, she had heard nothing but bellows of animals who sounded as though they were on the verge of dying.

Tharja eventually had to say something even if Robin had already fallen asleep next to her. She would at least have to start some form of meaningless conversation lest her sanity be consumed by the silence.

"Robin," she murmured. "Have you ever considered what it would be like to be trapped under the sea? To hear the muffled sound of water surrounding you. Whales crying out from hundreds of miles away. Would you be consumed by an aquatic predator faster than you could drown or be crushed by the pressure of the sea? _I wonder..._ "

"Why did you even bring that up," asked Robin.

Tharja smiled. She kept her eyes locked on the glowing canopy just as Robin did. "Because we're next to a river. I hate the idea of being submerged so the idea has naturally sparked my interest on many occasions. The worst time of my life was being on that ship to Valm. Then again, it gave me a lot of free time to watch over you, so I guess it was not as bad as I remember it."

Robin sat up and gazed at her with wide eyes. He had no idea what she was going on about. He mentally searched through what little memories he had of his life before coming to the forest, but nothing ever involved a ship or its destination.

"Hold on a minute, Tharja. Since when was I ever on a ship with you?"

"It was a whole invasion force. We set out to sea from a port in Ferox," Tharja explained. Her tone was as flat as always, but Robin could still sense a small bit of surprise in her words.

Tharja cut herself off when she realized that she remembered almost nothing beyond the most basic of details about this alleged event. "That is... all I can recall," she said meekly. " _Whatever_. It isn't relevant anymore. The point is, I hate oceans. I honestly never could figure out how you and the others got along so well while trapped on those vessels. Were it not for you being on board, I would have no motivation to travel across such a vast body of water."

"You probably hate this place, then," Robin laughed.

"No," Tharja bluntly retorted. "Rivers are of no concern to me. The mere thought of the depths of the darkest sea is what caused so many restless nights. Have you ever given much thought into what can be found on the sea floor?"

"Probably water."

Robin was the only one to find his remark amusing. "Anyway, I was not speaking of the river. I was referring to the plethora of underwater caves that apparently exist beneath our feet. Before you showed up, Ghiaccio was giving me strong hints that we are going to have to venture down there at some point, but I have no idea why."

"Interesting. It appears that your friend does not really take well to the idea of keeping you in the know."

"Nonsense," Robin dismissively argued. "I know what the future entails."

"How strange you've become," Tharja whispered. "So fascinating, the way isolation can work on the mind."

Her jab went completely ignored. Tharja snickered to herself after silence took hold of her once again.

She waited for him to finally fall asleep. It took a long time given how much he tried to fight off his fatigue while she was in the vicinity. When he had fallen deep into the realm of dreams Tharja's old nightly ritual began. She sat up and stared at him.

Her menacing eyes were hidden behind her bangs along with their creepy intent. She leaned forward until her face was but an inch away from Robin's. Her hair fell down around him. Tharja took a strange pleasure in knowing that if he had woken up at this exact moment, he probably would have screamed.

"So, this is our new home," Tharja whispered with an ominous smile. "It's dark, hopeless, inhumane, and isolated. In other words… _I like it._ "

* * *

 _Note: It would be fair if someone were to describe the Lost Ones as a cross between the Waffen-SS and the Dark Eldar. Naturally, their uniforms, behavior, and weapons would reflect both of these sources of inspiration. Jade, as I mentioned before, was a very old idea of mine and while the fandoms I directed it to changed constantly over the course of its development, the overall store hardly changed._

 _It was never truly intended to be written for Fire Emblem until recently. The Lost Ones were intended from the very beginning to have a large amount of World War II era tech at their disposal. They, like most of the original characters and locations, are ideas I hope to incorporate in my own works later on and are merely being experimented on in stories such as Jade._

 _With that, all said when I suddenly shifted Jade's setting (which is arguably the most important part of the story) to the sword and magic wielding universe of Fire Emblem I almost felt compelled to either cut them completely from the plot or downgrade their arsenal. I obviously could not cut them given how little is going on Jade at the moment. Without them, things would be pretty boring, or at least until later chapters. I was on the verge of just giving them the usual swords and shit because I simply did not want them to appear as edgelord trash straight from the bowels DeviantArt or something of that nature. Their darker themes are not what worries me, but the fact that they wield bolt-action rifles and the likes._

 _I also decided against this as well because I felt as though it make for an interesting dynamic. Instead of fighting through such a threat, Chrom and the others would have to keep out of sight or end up face to face with a machine gun toting elf named Hans._


	5. The River

_Note: To address a bit of criticism I received in the last chapter. One of the most difficult aspects about_ _Jade_ _was choosing how to begin the story. In other versions of the story, the beginning started out with Robin alone who would, in turn, meet Ghiaccio sometime around the third chapter. Other characters were not supposed to be introduced until much later._

 _The biggest question left when writing the first chapter of_ _Jade_ _was how to start it off. The forest is meant to be a mystery to both the reader and the character. The same can be said for why or how the characters are lost in this new setting. I had to construct the first few chapters and intentionally avoid a lot of the overarching questions so that they could be answered at a more appropriate time._

 _As a result of this,_ _Jade_ _does not have a very good introduction. I took a little break from_ _Jade_ _to work on its sister story,_ _Xibalba_ _, and hopefully, figure out some sort of solution as_ _Xibalba_ _definitely has the stronger beginning out of the two._

 _Perhaps I will add a brief prologue to the story at some point in the near future. Something that would sum up a lot of the cut chapters to make the rest of these earlier events easier to digest._

* * *

 **The River**

The river's tranquil flow quickly turned violent shortly after Robin fell asleep. It went from a peaceful stream to foaming rapids seemingly overnight. The roaring waters woke Robin up shortly after daybreak. Due to the lack of sunlight penetrating the canopy, he had no idea how long he had been asleep.

Robin searched the banks for his other two companions. Tharja was still soundly sleeping a fair distance away, lying on her side while facing the river. Ghiaccio, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. The bank on the other side was still and lifeless. There were no signs of the snake anywhere aside from tracks he left behind when heading toward the river, but he was unsure if they were recently made.

He stood up and cautiously approached Tharja. With a simple tap on the shoulder, she opened her eyes and instantly glared at Robin.

" _What_ ," she growled.

Robin backed away and pointed toward the opposite side of the river. "Did Ghiaccio not come back yet?"

"Huh," Tharja huffed as she buried her head into her sleeves. "What are you talking about? He came back before I went to sleep. If he's gone then he probably went to look for his friend."

"How long ago was it before you fell asleep? Give me something specific, Tharja."

"I have nothing specific _to_ offer," Tharja snapped. "If you want to find your little boyfriend so bad then do it yourself."

Robin was somewhat surprised by Tharja's display of irritability around him, but it was clearly a result of him waking her up too early. He left her alone and set off toward the river. He did not dare jump in with the water moving so rapidly. There was no movement on the opposite bank. With a growing sense of worry, Robin began scouring the nearby area for tracks the snake might have left behind.

After coming up with nothing, Robin was left with two options. He absolutely knew that an old comrade was after Ghiaccio. A comrade turned enemy shortly after he arrived in the forest. He was specifically told not to cross the river as it was frequently patrolled by the sadistic soldiers that Ghiaccio often aligned himself with. He could ignore this order and search for Ghiaccio across the river or wake up Tharja for the second time and employ her skills to cast some form of hex that could possibly solve this situation. Of course, doing so would probably anger her greatly as she did not appear to take kindly to having her slumber interrupted.

It was not a difficult choice to make. He ran the risk of evoking Tharja's wrath as opposed to being forever enslaved to a hedonistic race of humanoids he had never encountered before. After contemplating this for a total of five seconds, it was settled. Robin started off toward the river, praying to the gods on high that he would not be swept away by these violent rapids.

* * *

Ghiaccio sat under a shrub with his body coiled around itself. He looked up at the darkly dressed young man looming over him. He wore the same outfit as the group of soldiers Ghiaccio saw the night before. He had the same blue eyes and blond hair as they did as well as the exact same build.

The conversation between the two died off rather suddenly. Now, only the sound could be heard coming from the rapids toward the south.

It had been a ridiculously long quest to perform this rendezvous. Ghiaccio recalled the nonsense of the past couple of days. He felt as if the forest itself was trying to prevent this moment. From bumping into a psychotic woman who delayed their trip for an entire day to his own friend simply not meeting up with him on time. All of this to ask for a mere favor.

The serpent quickly grew impatient with his friend's lack of words. Ever unnecessary second wasted here caused him more and more irritation. Eventually, Ghiaccio curled his scaly lips into a smiled as he finally decided to shatter the awkward silence once and for all.

" _Yvo_ ," the snake announced with a tone of false excitement. Yvo could see right through his act.

" _Gio_ ," the elf retorted with a cocky smile. "Wasn't expecting you to be dropping by anytime soon. How's it going?"

Ghiaccio's willingness to be friendly quickly diminished when that question was hurled his way. " _Are you kidding me, Yvo!?_ You knew I would be meeting you here. I sent the damn message days ago! If you weren't screwing around in the woods at night, we would have had this meeting yesterday and been done with it! Just what the hell are you up too out here, anyway!?"

"A project," Yvo replied, making sure to give as little information as possible. "Nothing you need to worry about. Look, just spit it out already. It's obvious that you're here because you need something. That's the only reason you ever come by to visit anymore."

Ghiaccio let out a low hiss at Yvo's admittedly correct assumption. He briefly scanned their surroundings. There appeared to be nobody listening in on them, or at least, no one that was hiding poorly.

"For the record, I help you out with stuff all the time."

"No, you don't," Yvo bluntly corrected.

Ghiaccio did not even try to argue that point. He huffed and looked to a nearby pile of brush, not with the intent to make sure there was no one listening in on him but to avoid eye contact.

"I've been searching something for a long time. Just as you don't want to talk about whatever you're doing, neither do I at this point in time. For now, let's just call this a treasure. I want to find a treasure. The problem is… it's located somewhere deep within the Faceless City."

Yvo promptly exploded with laughter. That alone had to be the most amusing thing he had heard all day. Unfortunately for the elf, his laughter quickly died down when he realized that Ghiaccio was not laughing along with him.

"Oh, you're not joking," Yvo concluded. "We're gonna be here for awhile aren't we?"

The blue viper confidently nodded his head. "Yep."

* * *

Tharja observed Robin as he climbed out of the river from a comfortable spot with her back leaned up against a tree trunk. She could not help but grin at the sight of his defeated expression. Her smile only grew wider when she noticed the rips and tears in his clothes as well as the blood that dripped from them.

It was clear that he had run into something far worse than rapids out there. Ironically, the river had slowed down considerably for no explainable reason. The water seemed to be constantly fluctuating in terms of speed and strength.

Robin stopped in his tracks when he noticed that she had finally woken up. He silently stared at her without saying a word.

Tharja broke the silence when she pointed at him with a confused look in her eyes. "There's a fish gnawing on your ear."

She was not lying nor hallucinating. Robin was already fully aware of the fish violently twitching and flopping around on his shoulder while it dug a set of razor sharp teeth in his right ear.

Robin did not react in the same way she had predicted. He did not frenzy or attempt to rip it off. Instead, he quietly grabbed a hold of the fish, pulled it off of his unfortunate ear, and threw it back into the river.

"There goes breakfast," Tharja sighed at the lost opportunity. "So, what happened to you? I highly doubt that water alone caused all of those odd wounds."

"You saw what happened," Robin reminded with a cold glare. "Turns out, this river is infested with piranhas. The rapids randomly slowed down when I made it about halfway to the other side. Then all of a sudden, I believe I may have stumbled into a shoal of them and they started swarming me."

"Interesting," Tharja mumbled. "I find myself genuinely surprised that you made it out with such minor injuries, let alone alive. Sorry to say this my dear Robin, but that is what you get for wading off into the water."

Robin dragged his feet forward until he reached the same tree that Tharja was relaxing under. He leaned his back against the opposite side of the trunk and slid to the ground in utter exhaustion.

Tharja scooted around to his side and snuggled up against him. Normally, he would try to clear as much distance as possible from her, but being mauled by a horde of angry piranhas had taken a lot of energy from him. As a result, he stayed put and hoped that ignoring Tharja would make her go away.

He flinched at the stinging sensation of her index finger running along a cut on his cheek. Robin promptly leaned away from her and placed his hand on the right side of his face. "Ow. What are you doing?"

She grinned at the sight of the blood that coated the tip of her finger. Much to Robin's horror, Tharja placed her finger to her lips and slowly licked it clean.

"Oh. So that's how you taste," she said with dark intrigue.

For a moment, Robin tossed around the idea of jumping right back into the river. At least piranhas were not nearly as ambiguous in their actions.

" _Tharja_ ," he groaned. "I was almost eaten by carnivorous fish not but five minutes ago. Needless to say, I am not in the mood for your creepiness right now. Can you please go stalk someone else for a change?"

"Never."

Despite her response, she stood up and walked away from him. Robin sighed in relief when she had left.

She headed toward another tree and stared down at a complex sigil drawn into the dirt by her own hands. Tharja glanced over her shoulder and frowned.

"Care to tell me what you and that serpent are up too out here," Tharja coldly asked. "If you know anything about what this forest is and how we both got here, that information would also help."

"You have no right to ask," Robin snapped from behind the false safety of his tree. "Not after the stunt, you pulled the other day. However, as far as what and where this place is, well, I know just about as much as you."

"I assumed you would say something like that," she whispered, never intending for her words to reach his ears.

"You're going to give me what I need one way or another."

* * *

Ghiaccio slithered toward the river. He took his sweet time in returning to Robin and Tharja. As he snaked onward, Ghiaccio mentally went over the conversation he had with Yvo. It inevitably went as he assumed, but it could have easily gone better.

A sudden rustling in a nearby line of glowing shrubs pulled Ghiaccio back to reality. The snake curled up into a defensive pose and waited. His first thought was that an ignorant rodent would be coming along soon which would, in turn, mean food. Ghiaccio would quickly come to regret that assumption when he suddenly felt a sharp metallic object brush up against the back of his neck.

" _I've got you. Don't you dare move!_ "

Ghiaccio remained completely calm at the sound of this feminine voice whispering aggressively to him. His first instinct was to use his rattle and alert Yvo's nearby squad mates. As soon as he lifted up his rattle, he felt the woman's blade gently pressed down on him, forcing Ghiaccio to submissively lower his head.

"Shake your rattle and your head will roll, snake."

The viper craned his neck and turned in the direction of his attacker. He curled his scaly lips into a smile at the sight of a familiar face. Her long blue hair, cobalt eyes, and matching outfit instantly gave away to her identity. Her red and blue cape lightly swayed back and forth. To complement her royal outfit, a small tiara in her hair.

He poked out his forked tongue a few times to take in the scents of his surroundings to ensure this woman had no unseen companions to account for if he were to have any hope of escaping. Already, his ingenious little mind was working out a way to best this predator. In the meantime, he would simply have to keep her talking.

"I could smell you coming," Ghiaccio informed. "You're Lucina, right? Robin was worried that you might attack me again in this area. I suppose it was wrong of me to call him paranoid. After I kill you, I'll have to apologize to him."

"I don't want this to lead to the deaths of either of us," Lucina reassured.

Ghiaccio took a mental note of how her hands firmly gripped the sword, yet the blade itself was shaking ever so slightly. Either she was afraid of confrontation, which Ghiaccio highly doubted, or she was worried that she might accidentally kill him which he also highly doubted.

"Listen to me, snake. I am not of this world and neither is the man you are traveling with. All I want is to regroup with my other friends and find a way back home. The only reason I continue to show hostility towards you is because I am already fully aware of your secret."

Despite being completely at the mercy of this woman, Ghiaccio still managed to laugh in her face. He bared his fangs in a mocking smile while she spoke.

"A woman told me about you," Lucina accused with a vile glare. "She pretty much confirmed what others have said to be true. You surround yourself with people who you believe are useful in some way. When they are no longer valuable to you then you slowly but surely turn them all against each other. It simply cannot be a coincidence that so many people have met such a similar end in this forest. If they aren't killed by a serpent's bite, then they are stabbed in the back by their friends or relatives. I cannot figure out how you are able to subvert people so easily, but it will not happen to us. I do not want to kill you. We can still solve this without death. Please cooperate with me and you will survive."

The snake remained unconvinced. He giggled from underneath her blade as if it were no bother at all that she was on the verge of slicing his head off. "That's quite an interesting urban legend," Ghiaccio teased. "Although, I would not recommend listening to every little thing some inbred villager says to you."

"Her name was Lyndis," Lucina sternly insisted. "Sound familiar?"

Ghiaccio's giggle soon devolved into a psychotic laugh. He almost did not believe her at first. The mere mention of that name was the most entertaining thing he had heard all week.

His laughter became somewhat disturbing to Lucina. She furrowed a curious brow at him and took a small step back. Lucina made certain to keep her blade steady and unaffected by her growing nervousness around this unpredictable opponent.

The viper's laughter slowly died down after a couple seconds and locked eyes with her. The forest fell as silent as these dual counterparts. Lucina could almost see herself in those menacing blue orbs.

"How could I have forgotten about Lyn," Ghiaccio cheerfully asked. "Wow! She's still alive!? It really shouldn't come as any surprise to me. When I first met her, I honestly did not think she could survive for very long out here when we first met, but I was clearly mistaken."

Ghiaccio thought back on this person with a sadistic fondness for the memories that name had unlocked. "Yes, she was a very intuitive woman. Surprisingly so. Unfortunately, I was never able to kill her. She left her own allies behind when they suddenly became more hostile towards her and themselves. I guess she figured out what happened to them over the course of the last five years. What an enigma that whole ordeal was."

Lucina slowly shook her head at the snake. "There was nothing enigmatic about it. She told me all she knew. Lyndis was in my very same position. She was merely trying to find a way out of these woods that she had never seen before. All the while, her friends, and comrades were driven to violent opposition. Behind every argument or physical fight was a blue viper with cold eyes that could pierce even the strongest of souls. You killed them all, but you will not do the same to us."

He scanned his surroundings constantly. Ghiaccio flickered his tongue out to physically grab hold of the scents of the area. Aside from Lucina, he could not smell any other humans in the area. Regardless of this fact, he still felt the need to ask.

"Did she come with you? Is she here hiding somewhere?"

"No," Lucina assured. "I spoke to her recently. I told her that I would be making my move against you today but she wanted to keep her distance for some reason."

Ghiaccio's smile grew even wider when this was said. He stared deeply into her eyes as he readied his fangs.

"That was a wise call on her part," Ghiaccio complemented with a hiss. "She knows me too well. You, on the other hand, have lost. I win the game."

"Game," asked Lucina, not daring to move her sword even an inch away from his head at this point. "What do you mean you win? Have you gone mad? You are completely at my mercy. Do not try to bluff your way out of this."

"No bluff. You've just lost."

In the blink of an eye, Ghiaccio opened his mouth and drew his fangs. A torrent of venom came jutting out from the tips of those blade-like fangs.

With near flawless aim, the two streams of venom were shot directly into Lucina's eyes. Naturally, she closed them as soon as she could feel the streams crashing against her pupils, but the damage had already been done. She screamed at the top of her lungs and dropped her sword. Ghiaccio slithered out of the way just before it had a chance to cut him as it fell.

Lucina flailed her entire body around and repeatedly cried out in agony. She wanted nothing more than to dig her own eyes out with her fingernails just to stop the insufferable bleeding. Out of the countless times, she had suffered an injury in battle, the sensation of having her eyeballs practically melt under a snake's venom was unparalleled.

She tried her best to wipe away the venom on her face. It was far too painful for her to open her eyes to make sure she had not gone blind. Lucina barely kept her footing. She constantly stumbled around, nearly falling flat on her face several times.

Ghiaccio chuckled at the ridiculous sight to the point where he had to force himself to pause before he ended up suffocating.

"See what I mean," he asked in between breaths. " _You lose!_ "

Lucina did not respond to him. She did not have the ability to respond. The woman made an abrupt break for the river, fleeing the scene with the intent of getting as far away from the snake as possible before it could strike her again.

With no reason to not stay put, Ghiaccio let her go but not without adding a little salt to her _incredibly_ painful wounds.

" _Run you, helpless wretch!_ Without eyesight, you'll be dead in a week! Oh, but if you see that green-headed slut before then tells her I said to _go to Hell!_ "

Ghiaccio waited until she had disappeared into the brush ahead before he slowly slithered after her. He hummed a cheerful tune as he followed in her footsteps without a care in the world.

* * *

Across the river, Tharja slowly walked in circles around Robin and his tree. She only stopped her pace briefly to slowly wave her hand in front of Robin's face. To her relief, he was unable to follow her movements and merely stared off into oblivion with a glassy look in his eyes.

She leaned upright, crossed her arms, and smiled down at him victoriously. "Looks like my hex worked. Okay, Robin, since you refuse to tell me anything voluntarily, I suppose I will have to force the information out of you. Like most mind altering hexes, you should not remember the events transpiring as of now. The whole point of this is to ensure that you answer my questions truthfully. Understood?"

Robin did not respond to her and Tharja was quite pleased with his silence. Once more she began orbiting around Robin like a planet and the nearest star.

"What do you know about the forest," asked Tharja. "What is the story behind this odd little place and how did you end up here?"

"I do not know," Robin replied in a voice that lacked any hint of emotion.

A simple answer, but exactly what she was looking for. Neither her memories nor his were fully intact. The one thing Tharja truly remembers is that she had never seen this forest before. How she got here or where her old comrades were was information that she did not have access to but held onto the hope that Robin might have something she could use.

"Tell me about your experiences here. What happened to you when you first woke up here?"

"I wondered for a few days looking for you and the others," Robin said in a mechanical fashion. He appeared to have no control over the answers he gave nor could he even apply emphasis or personality to his words. He was left with his soul open for the world to see.

"Eventually, I gave up and struggled to hunt for food," he continued. "There was nothing here. Lush plants everywhere but no animals. I was afraid to partake in the flora for fear of being poisoned. The glowing plants were intimidating. I met Ghiaccio one day while I was on the verge of collapsing due to dehydration and hunger. He showed me my mistakes and taught me how to survive here."

"Is that why you are so zealous about helping that talking serpent?"

Robin nodded his head but said nothing.

Tharja placed her dominant hand underneath her chin as she marched around him. She suddenly had an idea. The hex she was currently using was somewhat mysterious to her. It was one of the rare curses she would often employ without having a serious understanding of how it work.

This lack of knowledge inspired her little plan. Perhaps this curse could enable her to dig for information that his waking consciousness had no awareness of, and thus, would act more like a mind reader than a prevention of lies.

Tharja walked around to the front of the tree and stared down at Robin, gazing into his dazed eyes. "What is the last memory you have of your time outside the forest?"

"Dying."

His answer left her speechless. She stared at him in bewilderment. This answer was far too simple for her to make any sense of it. Before she had a chance to ask any further questions on the matter, Ghiaccio's voice called out to her, causing her to jump in surprise.

" _Okay, everything's done_ ," the serpent exclaimed.

Tharja quickly muttered an incantation to end the rite before Ghiaccio could catch on to what she was doing. She then turned to him with her usual frown as if nothing suspicious was going on.

Robin woke from his trance with a jolt. He immediately assumed he had dozed off for quite awhile, not ever realizing what had just transpired.

He looked to Tharja who's eyes were drawn towards the river. He followed her gaze and spotted a familiar blue pit viper slithering towards them. Robin stood up and smiled with relief to see the serpent completely unharmed.

"Ghiaccio. Where have you been? I was worried Lucina might have gotten to you."

The snake smirked at his surprisingly accurate assumption. "Don't worry about her. She won't bother us ever again."

Ghiaccio glinted over his shoulder to take one last look at the river. "We're leaving! Pack up whatever shit you brought with you right now," he did not take his eyes off of the tranquil water as he barked this order.

"What about your friend," asked Robin. "Did you meet with him?"

" _Duh!_ We got everything sorted out. I'll explain the details on the way back to the manor. For now, we just need to lay low until the time is right. I fear we may have a new enemy tailing us which is why I want to get back to the manor as soon as possible now let's get moving!"

* * *

Lucina ran as fast as she could. Without a clue as to what lied in her path, she could not move with her usual speed. She was stuck tripping over every little rock and branch in her way. The pain was still so immense. She could not bring herself to open her eyes.

She cursed herself repeatedly for her stupidity. She let her guard down for a split second with the assumption that she had already one and was now fleeing for her life with the strong possibility of permanent blindness to haunt her.

The thought of leaving her beloved sword behind was just an insult to injury. She debated giving up right there and then. Without the gift of sight, she had absolutely no hope for survival.

" _Dammit_ ," Lucina screamed aloud. She could care less about giving away her position at this point. If those darkly dressed soldiers would not kill her, the forest surely will.

" _How!? What kind of snake spits its venom!?_ No wonder I failed to stop Grima! I can't even best an insignificant little snake!"

Lucina picked up her pace, rushing to find something, anything at all that would take away her pain. Run as she might, she could not escape from the fears swelling up in her frantic thoughts.

In the best case scenario, Lucina would be able to recover a fraction of her eyesight. In the absolute worst case scenario, she would be blind forever and die as a result of being unable to survive in this ruthless environment. Of course, that all depended on the strength of Ghiaccio's venom.

The burning did not relent. It was still just as excruciating as when the venom first entered her eyeballs. Tears of agony trailed down her cheeks. Her entire face was bright red at this point and starting to swell in a vile reaction to Ghiaccio's venom.

Lucina's cries of pain were cut short when she abruptly lost her footing. She stepped forward, but for some reason, there was nothing to plant her foot on. In an instant, she found herself falling off a steep slope and into a large body of water of which she could only assume was the river.

Blind and without hope, Lucina was powerless to fight against the flow of the river. The best she could do was force her way to the surface for oxygen. She was quickly carried off downstream by the current. Where the river would take her, only time and a keen pair of eyes would tell.

* * *

 _Note: When creating Ghiaccio, I looked at a plethora of different species of snakes. I played around with the idea of giving him a hood and basing him off of a cobra. However, that design was a little too exotic for what I wanted to achieve with him. Granted, his coloration is still very exotic but I had always planned on giving him some unrealistically flamboyant colors to help the reader differentiate him from any known species. The only thing I kept from Ghiaccio's days as a cobra was his ability to spit venom._

 _Soon after I ditched the cobra idea, I moved on to do a bit of research on pit vipers, primarily rattlesnakes. There were several times when I cut Ghiaccio's rattle and I also could not decide if I wanted to give him a pattern on his back similar to the diamondback or just leave him with solid colors. This change was mere minutes before I published Jade. I had already uploaded the first document, finished editing it and prepared to publish when I decided to cut it. In fact, I would not be surprised at all if Ghiaccio is still described as having that pattern on his back during his brief appearance in the first chapter of Xibalba._


	6. Mandrake Practicum

_Note: As some of you may have noticed, the rating for_ _Jade_ _has changed. I simply cannot keep it a T anymore. The original purpose was to keep it as the same rating as_ _Xibalba_ _which is nowhere near as dark or disturbing. A stupid reason, but it was my logic at the time. I also never intended for this many violent and disturbing scenes to be present so quickly within_ _Jade_ _. A lot of them were cut down such as the scene depicting Tharja decapitating the corpse. I also cut a series of scenes regarding her ritual with the headless body as well as her mounting it on a pike._

 _By the time you read this first scene, you will know why simply had to change the rating. This is one of the rare times I feel it necessary to part the reader with a warning. If you are easily disturbed by sickening imagery then I would recommend reading no further._

 _I will wait a couple days after this chapter's release before changing the rating. This is mostly to inform anonymous users who wish to continue following this story before the time comes when Jade suddenly vanishes from the default filter settings._

* * *

 **Mandrake Practicum**

A wretched odor invaded Lucina's nostrils after almost an hour of being pushed upstream. A stench that overpowered her every time she managed to surface for air. She nearly drowned several times and completely failed to swim to shore. She could only guess where land could be found, but every time she assumed she was getting close to shore, the river would suspiciously pick up its pace and push her further away.

Her vision was still black and she was beginning to fear the worst. At least most of the venom had been washed out by the water but the damage was irreversible. Now, Lucina had no choice but to find a means of reaching the nearest bank and waiting it out, hanging onto the distant hope that at least part of her eyesight would return.

What became more concerning than her own eyes, however, was that awful smell. It was the familiar stench of rotting flesh she became so acquainted with on the battlefield. The water around her suddenly became heavier and held a consistency closer to that of syrup rather than actual water. It was beginning to make her sick to her stomach.

Lucina quickly discovered how shallow this portion of the river was. She was finally able to stand up. The woman was now waist deep in what she no longer believed to be water. Other smells were slowly starting to overtake her senses. The unmistakable stink of excrement and pus nearly caused Lucina to vomit right then and there.

After much stumbling, she eventually found her way to what she presumed was land. She still waded in this ankle deep sludge with no clue as to what it could possibly be. It was relieving to feel herself bump into a tree. At least she could confirm that she was out of the river, but the question still remained, where did she wind up?

Just when she was on the verge of giving up all hope of living, a miracle happened. She could see something. Her vision was extremely blurry and tunneled. Her left eye was still totally out of commission but she could see a small hint of her environment out of her right eye.

Lucina did not dare complain even if this was all she will ever be able to see. Even if it was just a sliver of vision, it gave her an actual chance at survival. However, this also enabled her to see the horrors she had been traversing for the past few minutes.

Lucina gasped and covered her mouth to prevent herself from throwing up. Hundreds or possibly thousands of what at first glance appeared to be vines dangling from the monolithic trees around her. Lucina realized that they were actually vines after staring at them for a little while.

At the end of each of these vines was a well-preserved corpse. Each of them had been killed in the exact same way. Their stomachs were sliced open. A gruesome evisceration that left their innards hanging out for all the world to see.

The sludge that came up to Lucina's ankles was an entire lake of pus and intestinal mucus. It was stagnant like a forgotten pond. There was no blood to be found in this vat of bodily fluids that presumably dripped from the long dead people around her.

Ironically enough, she was given the gift of sight after nearly being blinded and this was the first thing she would see. Lucina promptly bent over and threw up, only adding to the vat surrounding her.

Her racing thoughts on how she was going to get out of this wretched area were silenced when Lucina heard a disturbing cry coming from behind. She slowly turned around after recovering from her little episode.

In between two hulking trees was a blooming plant hanging from a vine that stretched all the way up into the canopy. This bloom was slightly larger than herself. An utterly huge plant. The leaves were a putrid green that twitched and moved as if something underneath them was trying to escape. Lucina stumbled backward as is plant's sporadic movements became more violent. Soon enough, the leaves parted from each other and spread apart.

To her surprise, a fully grown man attached to the vine behind these leaves. He flailed around in place and cried like a newborn. This one scene explained everything to Lucina. At first, she assumed these people were hanged in some ritualistic genocide. That proved to be false when she witnessed this _creature_ being birthed from a plant. The forest itself was giving life to these homunculi somehow but that did not explain why all of them were dead of a very specific form of injury.

After a few minutes of nonstop crying, Lucina noticed something stirring in the mucus-soaked brush behind the monstrosity. The rustling stopped almost as soon as Lucina noticed it. Then, a horrific creature lunged from behind the vegetation. Lucina gasped at the unexpected sight.

It looked more along the lines of some sort of demonic goblin-like creature. It had a wicked smile and long jagged teeth and tall ears. The monster charged forward while waving a sharp blade over its head.

Lucina assumed it was charging her at first and prepared for a difficult fight. Fortunately, it turned at the last second and ran straight for that humanoid entity hanging from the vine. In a single and precise motion, the goblin sliced open the being's stomach. It did not even stop running to perform this horrific act. As the entity's innards began to spill out, the goblin ran straight back into the brush, not to be seen again.

The crying stopped soon after. Oddly enough, not an ounce of blood was lost during this brutal process. However, pus and bile were pouring from the wound like a fountain. Naturally, this supposed homunculus died rather quickly.

Lucina stood with her jaw dropped. She had no idea what she had just seen, let alone how to react. Merely being in this neck of the woods was sensory overload. With all the smells and vile creatures watching her from the shadows, Lucina could do nothing but run in the opposite direction, and run she did.

She knew that if she were to simply follow the river then she would eventually return to the area where Ghiaccio was last seen. Of course, Lucina had no desire to pick a fight at this point. She only needed to obtain her lost Falchion and she absolutely had to get away from this location. What comes next will only be relevant after that sword is back in her grasp.

* * *

The mansion was as quiet as always. Cherche did as ordered, watching over the boring sight with the hopes that something of interest will happen. Needless to say, after hours of having nothing to do but sit under a tree twiddling her thumbs, she was somewhat pleased to catch a glimpse of Virion moving toward her from out of the corner of her eye. Cherche found it rather surprising that he even bothered to follow Frederick's order of staying low and out of sight of the manor at all times despite no one actually being on the property. She herself did not so much as consider taking such unnecessary precautions.

"There you are," Virion greeted on his approach.

"Need something?"

"No, I merely come to offer up a little conversation while we are busy doing nothing," said Virion.

The archer took a seat on the sloped ground in front of Cherche and rested his back against the grass. He immediately shut his eyes in relaxation.

"Tell me, my dear, what do _you_ make of all this? Quite a bizarre situation we've found ourselves if I do say so myself."

Cherche shrugged her shoulders, ignoring the flirtatious intent behind his wording. "Could this be another world entirely? I feel as though this is the only explanation. In my short time here, I have encounter glowing plants, an endless canopy, and dream-like landscapes."

"The lack of wildlife is by far the must unsettling part of this whole ordeal," Virion added. "How Vaike keeps returning from his hunts with food is beyond me. In all my time spent here, I have yet to have heard so much as the croak of a bullfrog."

"Do you think we are the only ones left," asked Cherche. "I find it hard to believe that some of our more frail allies like Olivia stand much of a chance out here considering the severe lack of game."

Virion looked away from his former vassal and gave the wilderness behind her a hard stare. There was nothing moving in the background. Nothing at all. "The sinister nature of this place is more concerning to me than anything else."

"Pardon?"

Virion nodded confidently at Cherche. "Do you not feel it? Someone is watching us. I cannot see them but I know there are dozens of little eyes on us at all times. I often find myself glancing over my shoulder, expecting someone to be right there, caressing the back of my neck with their cold breath. Perhaps one night, I shall wake up and see some unfamiliar face looming over me. The last face I will see before being dragged off into the depths of the woods while you and my other colleagues are fast asleep."

This terrifying answer took Cherche by surprise. She gawked at him with wide eyes, waiting patiently for him to conclude this horror story.

He smiled at her shocked visage and spoke. "But alas, the true terror here is that I may lay eyes on such a beautiful..."

Virion cut his comment short long before Cherche had time to interrupt it with an aggressive jape. She noticed that his eyes were no longer on her. He stared at something behind her with a pale complexion and petrified visage.

Cherche did not say a word. She slowly turned around, making no sudden movements. Not but a few inches away from her stood a darkly dressed stranger in light armor. It had a human-like appearance, but it was clearly something else. The creature pressed itself against the very same tree she had been sitting under for the past few hours.

Its mouth appeared to have been stitched shut. It looked directly at Virion with a pair of solid white eyes. There were no pupils to be found within them. Along with it armor and the skin of his face were a plethora of small vines and leaves sprouting from its body. Its skin was another odd feature. It appeared as if someone had simply stretched a layer of leather over the rest of the body and it did not quite fit.

The duo was paralyzed by the sight of this entity. It said nothing to them, not that it possibly could with its lips sewn shut.

Cherche grabbed her ax and scooted away from the stranger, ready to retaliate should the need arise. She was not the only one to take up arms, Virion covertly placed his hand on the bow strapped to his back in anticipation for what was to come.

"Identify yourself," Virion eventually ordered.

It was a ludicrous question to ask given the appearance of this 'person' and as he should have expected, he received no reply.

Without even uttering a muffled sound, the stranger ever so slowly slid back behind the tree and out of their sight. Neither Cherche nor Virion felt compelled to advance on the tree. Not but a second later and they could hear rustling in the nearby brush. The sound of rapid footsteps moving away from them.

They were utterly speechless and shaken to the core. Their eyes met after almost ten minutes of waiting to see if they could catch another glimpse of that person who was probably already well out of their vicinity.

"Who was that," asked Cherche.

"I would rather let that remain a mystery," Virion hesitantly admitted.

Cherche scratched her head at the bewildering sight. One detail stuck out in her mind above all else. "Why was he staring at you and ignoring me?"

"Again, dear, I would prefer not to find out. At any rate, I have an unshakable feeling that this would have gone differently if you or I had the misfortune of being alone during this encounter. We must make haste and spread the information to the others before they too have a similar encounter."

* * *

Lucina was able to escape that surreal realm of death after a long run but the smells still haunted her just as much as the events that transpired there. She almost wished she was still completely blinded by Ghiaccio's venom so that she would have never witnessed it.

The woman constantly checked her surroundings, ensuring that she was not being followed by that creature from earlier. She racked her brain for answers. What could the point of such a place existing possibly be? What role did those plants play from a biological standpoint? Is there only purpose of providing a source of sadistic entertainment for those impish beings? What of the subhumans born from them? Lucina wondered if their entire existence was meant to end the second they were born.

Her thoughts could not linger on the topic for long. The sound of a series of small explosions up the river forced Lucina to come to a stop. She had picked up on this sound many times since she entered the forest and never once could she so much as muster up a remotely plausible guess about what could be causing it.

Lucina moved forward, chasing the sound down to finally learn of its source. As she ran up a steep hill, she noticed objects floating in the water off ahead. Of course, with her eyes forever damaged, she had to strain just to see them, but at least she was able to see something.

The current was bringing these objects toward her. She slowed her pace once she was able to gain a clear view of the horror before her. They were corpses. Unlike the ones, she had seen previously. Trails of blood flowed through the water behind them.

Each of them was brutalized in unique ways. These ranged from deep slashes to entire limbs being severed. They each had their own horrific story to tell. Even with them right in front of her, Lucina still had to squint just to see them due to the blurriness of her vision.

She followed the trails of blood they left behind. Her gaze eventually brought her attention to a group of darkly dressed men standing on the opposite side of the river. Lucina immediately ducked behind the nearest tree at the sight of them.

She recalled her newfound friend, Lyndis, calling these people the 'Lost Ones.' The undisputed kings of the forest. Lyndis had warned her several times to steer clear of them as they were allegedly known for behaving incredibly hostile to any outsider who had the misfortune to be found by them. Naturally, she wanted nothing to do with these people.

They stood in front of a hulking metal construct of which could only puzzle the woman as she had never seen such a thing before. There were two ironclad gates that were left wide open. The construct was tilted at an angle, allowing a pile of corpses to fall freely into the river and float downstream.

Lucina could only make out a portion of their conversation from her position, but it was enough to tell her exactly what was going on here.

"Can't believe that," one of the soldiers shouted over the sound of bodies splashing into the water. They both looked down to something on the ground in between them but Lucina failed to see what it was from her angle.

"Have you ever seen anything like this," he continued.

"No sir," the other soldier replied. He too raised his voice over all of the loud noises around them. "I've been on several of these jobs and have never seen one that was still alive. Freaky as hell to see the bastard crawling out of there like that."

"People just need to do their damn job," the first man agreed. "Check the bodies and make sure they're dead before shipping them out here. That shit is seriously dangerous. What if the bastard was armed!? We could have been caught off guard. I'll be filing a serious complaint to the director when we head back to HQ. Someone's gonna pay for this."

The two soldiers muttered a few inaudible complaints followed by both of them leaned over and picking up a nearby corpse before tossing it over into the water along with the rest of the bodies.

Lucina backed away from the tree slowly. She stayed low and often took cover behind whatever she could to avoid being seen. She remained completely focused on obtaining her sword. She could worry about saving people after it was within her grasp.

As she moved forward, she felt something slip out of her tunic and fell to her feet. Lucina looked down to see her old mask lying there on the ground. The masked she used when under the guise of a man named 'Marth.'

She remembered finding it on her person upon first waking up from a long slumber underneath one of the many neon trees that made up the forest. It should at least be in two pieces but it did not have a single scratch on it.

More than anything she had seen thus far, this one thing puzzled her the most. This mask should be in two, but it was not. It should have been lost long ago when it was broken, but it was still on her. She took it as an omen and kept it on her person at all times.

Then she realized something. Lucina bent over and picked the flimsy piece of metal up off the ground and dusted it off. She then brought her fingers up to her face and felt the swelling around her eyes. She was not close enough to the water to look at her own reflection nor did it occur to her to do such a thing up until now, but Lucina knew full well that she must be absolutely hideous at the moment. Her eyelids were swollen and her eyes were puffy and bloodshot.

Lucina could only see out of one eye and her vision was atrocious at best. She considered herself lucky to have fallen victim to anything less than the worst case scenario, but the results of Ghiaccio's venom must be truly ugly.

No longer wishing to see her own face, she decided to spare both herself and the world of the sight of it. She donned her old mask once again. Something that so conveniently covered the portions of her face which had been affected by the venom.

Lucina then set off for the area that marked her most recent failure. So long as she regained her father's sword, she would feel a little better about facing whatever terrible fate the forest had in store for her.


	7. Planet Lyndis

**Planet Lyndis**

Far down the river was a long abandoned town that had since been mostly reclaimed by the forest. It was nestled in between a lake to the west and a massive waterfall to the west. It was a quiet place. A long forgotten town that even the Lost Ones did not bother patrolling anymore despite their constant efforts to continue observing old human settlements.

However, there was one house that appeared to be in much better shape than any of the others. There were fewer vines growing on the walls and far fewer cracks and crevices to be found. The dust was kept down to a bare minimum and it had a slightly better-lit interior when compared to the darkness of the neighboring homes.

Lon'qu found himself in the thrall of this house. He sat upright on an old bed which he knew was a place he had never slept in before. He only took a second to observe his surroundings. The room was dark. There was a small, dusty nightstand near his bed. The walls were covered in chipped paint. There was a single window on his right which failed to bring in any light from outside which led Lon'qu to assume the sun had long since set over the horizons. Nothing but an ominous blue hue penetrated the window and invaded the room.

He placed a hand on his forehead as he tried to recall the events that led him to this place but his mind was drawing blanks. Lon'qu gasped as he realized that he had virtually no memories at all. He could remember important names, places, and events, but specific memories around these concepts were completely absent.

"What is this place," he murmured to himself. "How did I get here?"

After recovering from a nauseating sense of vertigo, Lon'qu stood up out of the bed and headed for the nearest door. He pushed the creaky door open and was immediately met with a woman he had never seen before. He naturally froze up in fear and stared at her with wide eyes.

She wore a blue dress with a gold trim. An elaborate belt kept her outfit wrapped tightly around her person while also offering a place to keep her sword sheathed and on her at all times. She had a head of long green hair done up in a ponytail and a set of matching eyes.

Her look of surprise was quickly swept away by a welcoming smile despite Lon'qu's horrified gawking. "Oh, you're awake?"

Lon'qu slowly backed away as if she were a rabid animal preparing to pounce. The woman raised an eyebrow at his apprehension. Of all things, this was not the reaction she expected.

"Um… My name is Lyndis, but I'd prefer if you called me Lyn. It's a pleasure to meet you, _mister_..."

Lon'qu gave her no response. He kept backing away until he was clear of the door. At the last second, he threw the door shut in her face and immediately went to work barricading her means of entry.

Lyndis made no efforts to force the door open after it had been slammed shut. She stood there in the dark hall with her hands behind her back. She listened to the sound of objects crashing against the other side of the door with intrigue.

She lifted her hand to her mouth in an attempt to amplify her voice as she called out to the man now trapping himself in the bedroom.

" _Was it something I said?_ "

* * *

Robin listened carefully to Ghiaccio as he explained his encounter with Lucina. Tharja was presumably somewhere nearby, but as usual, she preferred to keep out of sight.

"Are you sure it's okay to just let her flee," Robin inquired after the story was done and over with.

Ghiaccio rolled his eyes at Robin's constant questioning of his actions. "Of course not," he snarled. "Why do that? She's as good as dead. Without eyesight, how the hell is she supposed to survive out here? You're just being paranoid."

"You said that when I suggested that she might attack you while you went off to meet with your friends," Robin argued. "You called me paranoid, remember? Then what happened?"

Ghiaccio let out a soft but frustrated hiss. "She attacked me."

"Exactly," Robin insisted with a challenging glare. "Then again, you're probably right about that. At this point, I'm more worried about that other woman you mentioned."

"You mean Lyn?"

Robin shrugged his shoulders. He could not remember the name Ghiaccio used when referring to this person, but that sounded about right. "Yes. The one Lucina claimed to be contacted by. It's clear that she has some form of hatred towards you. We should handle this situation better than how we dealt with Lucina. We need to strike first. Where is this woman? We can wait until nightfall and kill her before she has a chance to lash out at us."

"A good idea," Ghiaccio admitted. "But there's a problem. I have no idea where she is right now. As I said before, I haven't laid eyes on her for half a decade. I was surprised to find out that she had survived for so long. Either way, I did do something about her."

"What did you do?"

"It pays to have friends in high places," Ghiaccio giggled mischievously. "While I cannot say for certain of Lyn is still living near a lake like she was five years ago, it's worth a shot right?"

Robin swiftly nodded his head. He often got the impression that Ghiaccio was a little bit careless, but then there were a plethora of times when the serpent was several steps ahead of the tactician.

"I asked some of my friends across the river to patrol that location," Ghiaccio informed. "Well, they're not going to patrol it, but they will definitely report alleged human activity in that area. Bored soldiers all over the area will be jumping on that location in a matter of hours. If she is anywhere near that area, then there's no need for us to worry. They'll kill her in no time. Of course, that is the most merciful of options available to them. She had best pray that they do not capture her alive for else, the rest of her short life will not be fun."

"What of your meeting with your friend? When are we going to continue our search?"

Ghiaccio let out a long and melodramatic sigh. He did not even want to think of the complicated mess that came of this trip to the river.

"We can only wait for someone higher up to come down here. Apparently, there's a big operation going down and we don't want to be anywhere near this place when it finally unravels. This whole area is going to become a kill zone. I was told that it was supposed to be happening next week, but those guys don't always have the most reliable information. When it actually is safe to head back down here, some of my boys are gonna come pick us up."

"So all we have to do is relax until they show up at the mansion?"

Ghiaccio nodded.

Robin was pleased with this plan. He looked forward to returning to the manor and kicking back for a week. After so much nonsense happening over the course of the past few days, a break would be very appreciated.

* * *

Unfortunately, the manor was anything but a relaxing haven. Chrom and his party had piled inside after a certain run-in with a terrifying individual who had not shown himself since.

Lissa's eyes were glued to a nearby window, watching the treeline for any signs of movement. She listened to the conversation behind her. Cherche and Virion elaborated on what they had seen for a third time just so Gregor and Vaike could be filled in on the situation as they were the last to retreat inside the manor.

"Gods! Such odd occurrence," Chrom chimed in. He felt a tingling in the depths of his spine when he tried to visualize the man they described. "Until we saw that severed head, I was beginning to wonder if anyone actually lived out here. Now, I wish we _were_ the only ones around."

"Sir," Frederick interjected. "If I may be so bold, I would like to inspect the surrounding areas for this stranger."

Chrom shook his head violently at the idea. "Of course not! No one is going out alone until we know more about what we're dealing with."

Virion smiled and nodded agreeably. He glinted to the nearest window but like Lissa, he saw nothing of interest. "What if that bizarre individual was the owner of this abode," he proposed. "Perhaps the sight of Cherche and I startled him and sent the poor soul running for the hills. He could have mistaken us for conniving bandits advancing on his property while he was away."

"Possible," Chrom added. "But I stand by my previous order. Under no circumstance is anyone allowed to leave the building for now. That is final."

Virion huffed dismissively at Chrom's assumption about his intent. "Well, I was not at all recommending that anyone leave. It is best that we solidify our position from the safety of this hostile and surreal environment. Lest we are picked off in the night by the fiends lurking in the shadows."

" _C-Chrom_ ," Lissa abruptly called out in distress.

Everyone turned toward her. A wave of fear shook the Shepherds to their cores. Their faces all simultaneously grew pale at the sight of the monster leaning against the window. It stared at them with a pair of huge solid white eyes. The monster placed a hand on the window and scratched at it with a set of long claws.

Lissa stared up at the thing, paralyzed with fear. The creature ignored her despite being only being separated by a thin layer of glass. Its gaze was locked on Virion. Cherche was the first to notice how their eyes met. Virion could not figure out what he had done to draw this monster's attention, but alas, he most certainly had.

"Lissa, get away from the window," Chrom hissed.

His sister immediately scooted backward. A moment after she had cleared a bit of distance from the window, the monster promptly walked off back behind the wall and out of her sight. Everyone exchanged silent and worried glances, having no idea how to respond to this.

Not but a second later and a massive object was thrown through the window. Lissa screamed over the sound of shattered glass pelting the floor. Everyone in the room jumped back out of fright. When the chaos of the room settled down the Shepherds were able to see what was thrown at them. A decayed corpse now lied at their feet and was covered in shards of glass. The corpse had no head which was rather suspicious for a plethora of reasons but especially so given the severed head that Henry still insisted on carrying around.

No one moved for the longest time. That humanoid entity appeared to have left after giving a rather blunt message.

Suddenly, not even Frederick was brave enough to venture outside.

* * *

Lon'qu hid in a corner of the room. He was fully prepared to never leave again. He had not heard a peep from that woman since he sealed off the bedroom. Lon'qu was thankful that he found his sword leaning against a nearby wall. He gripped it tightly as he prepared to leave.

After around an hour of waiting and listening for movement around him, he stood up knowing that there seemed to be nothing going on. He quietly took down his little barricade and opened the door. No one was standing in the hall before him. Lon'qu was not surprised by this given how long he had trapped himself in that room, but the house was eerily quiet. He began exploring the property. He checked every room for that woman but turned up with nothing.

Eventually, Lon'qu became fed up with the house and decided to leave the building altogether. The young man headed towards the front door and pushed it open. He had failed to so much as briefly glint out a window despite all the time he had to do so. He was far too worried about who that stranger was and why she had brought him here. Once Lon'qu exited the house, he was immediately taken aback by the alien world around him.

Each tree was its own citadel. The canopy was so thick and vast it blocked out the sky. Not a single ray of sunlight was able to navigate through the ceiling of leaves. Everything was painted in a turquoise hue as result of thousands of glowing plants all shining with the same neon color.

Lon'qu looked around to all of the old houses nearby. They were desolate and abandoned. Vines and weeds had reclaimed them after so many years of neglect. Roads and sidewalks had been completely crumbled and broken down as roots encroached in on the town, tearing their way through so many constructs of man.

A door leading to the interior of the nearest building was left wide open and halfway falling off of its hinges. Lon'qu had no idea what compelled him to take a look inside, but none the less, he did exactly that.

It was far too dark inside for him to venture further inside the house without worry of becoming lost. Despite that, something was pushing him onward. He entered what he presumed to be a living room. He felt as if he were the first person to step foot in this house in decades. There was a small tree growing in the middle of the room. Its branches had already begun to break through windows and split open walls. Pretty soon, this house would not be able to contain such a massive plant.

Lon'qu laid his eyes on a torn piece of paper resting on the ground in between a couple roots. Lon'qu stepped back outside and into what little light was available to him in order to read the contents of the page. It appeared to be nothing more than a child practicing handwriting as there was a series of jumbled and abnormally large letters written on the paper.

He carelessly tossed the page back inside the house where he found it. Lon'qu then noticed something more intriguing down the hill. There was a massive lake down the road or rather, what was left of the road. What was more striking was the labyrinth of old docks built along the shoreline.

With nothing left for him here, he headed down the broken path and toward the lake. He wondered along the way if any of the onslaughts of questions swelling up in his thoughts could be answered up ahead.

* * *

Once Lon'qu arrived at the lake, he took in the view. He analyzed everything there was to see. Most of the docks had collapsed in on themselves and were reclaimed by the forest. Termites made massive colonies of the old wood just as algae surrounded and infested submerged planks.

Lon'qu turned to his left in order to find something a little more noteworthy. Surprisingly, he found exactly that. He spotted rows and rows of what appeared to be handcrafted tombstones fashioned from loose bricks of cobblestone. In contrast to everything else he had seen up until now, the graves were very well kept. It was obvious to him that someone was still tending to them while leaving the rest of the town in a wasted and ignored state.

" _There are 4_ _4_ _graves here_ ," a voice murmured from behind.

Lon'qu nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of that melancholic tone. He twirled around to see that same woman from before staring down at the numerous tombstones facing the lake. The young woman who introduced herself as Lyn if Lon'qu was remembering that encounter correctly.

The woman held a large basket in hand that was filled to the brim with flowers. Freshly picked flowers that each had petals which glowed a bright and vibrant neon.

" _F_ _orty-_ _five_ counting the boy I buried under a tree set apart from the other graves. I had to dig all of them by hand, but I got it done after a couple weeks of labor. I made sure that each of them was given proper depth," Lyn explained.

He took few instinctive steps away from Lyn, wanting to clear a fair bit of distance from the woman, but he positioned himself in the graveyard as a result. Lon'qu was not entirely bothered by this. His eyes wandered down to the names crudely carved onto the stones.

These names did not seem to be in any particular order and there were no dates to be seen. Some of these stones read out names such as _Hector, Lucius,_ _Eliwood, Ninian, Isadora, Harken_ _,_ _Nino,_ and so many others.

"Is this where the residents of this town are buried," asked Lon'qu.

While he listened to Lyn's response, Lon'qu began pacing up and down the graveyard, reading out the names of these lost lives.

"No," she denied with a shake of her head. Lyn then placed the basket on the ground and crossed her arms. She looked at each and every grave with longing eyes. "Well… not in a sense. These graves belong to my friends. One day, we all just kind of woke up here. No one had any idea how we got lost in this place, but it seemed to just happen over night when we were all asleep. We took up residence in this town upon finding it. The place was already abandoned when we arrived."

Lon'qu stopped in his tracks and scratched his head at one particular grave labeled 'Mark.' This was quite a surreal experience. Lon'qu had no idea how he wound up here, but it sounded like he is now in the same situation all of these people were in.

"You look so young," Lon'qu remarked coldly. "They could not have died through natural means. How did this happen?"

"We were all beginning to lose more and more hope the longer we stayed here," Lyn continued in a dark tone. "This place isn't natural. We were not born in these woods like all of the other inhabitants. That combined with a certain threat from within turned our group of hearty friends into hateful enemies seemingly overnight. Would it be wrong of me to assume you weren't born here either?"

"I was not."

Lon'qu did not take his eyes off of the graves. He found it easier to talk with Lyndis so long as he was not making eye contact. "Is there a man that I can speak to?"

"A man," asked Lyn. "Only beneath your feet but you can't exactly talk to them. Why?"

She received no answer. Instead, Lon'qu merely shook his head and walked out of the graveyard. He headed off back towards the town. Lyn quickly followed him before he got too far ahead.

"Where are you going?"

He did not bother stopping to address her concern. "Stay back, woman. I need to regroup with my fellow soldiers. I have no time to linger in this depressing village."

"This isn't an ordinary forest," Lyn warned. "Take it from me. I was new to this place too about five years ago. When my friends passed on I had to learn everything on my own while tending to their graves. Trust me. This is an entirely new world with quirks you're probably not familiar with. Allow me to show you how to master the environment before you find yourself in a compromising position."

"What would you know about survival, woman? If there is meat here, I'll hunt it. If there are foes lurking in the darkness, I'll slay them. What could be more complicated than that?"

Lyndis swiftly ran up and around Lon'qu effectively blocking his path. She shook her head at his mistaken thesis on how this forest apparently works. "Please do not make the same mistakes we made. The forest has a mind of its own. It only feeds you if you follow its rules. Judging by the weapon you're holding, I'm also going to go out on a limb and say that you are not at all equipped to face the people who rule this kingdom. They'd kill you in a second if you came charging at them with that."

"I've dealt with spell weavers before. It's a none issue. Now, move aside. Your warnings do not intimidate me."

Lyn remained unmoved and met his cold gaze head on. She found it curious how he insisted on keeping a certain amount of distance from her at all times. Lyn wondered if it was just her imagination so she tested her theory. The girl took a step forward and Lon'qu took a silent step backward. She then took multiple steps toward him and Lon'qu quickly stumbled and fell into a sitting position as result.

He gasped in shock, having no clue what this woman was up to. Lon'qu got back up to his feet and promptly walked around her, resuming his march out of town.

"Enough of these games. I'm leaving. Do not attempt to follow me."

Lyndis watched as he left her behind. Once he was a little further down the road a light smile took form on her face.

"Strong silent type with a dash of mystery," she murmured to herself. "I'm intrigued."

She suddenly bolted after him despite Lon'qu's orders. Finally, there was someone else in this lonely place for Lyn to interact with. Whether he liked it or not was of no concern to her.

* * *

As Robin walked further and further away from the river, he listened to Ghiaccio ramble on about a whole lot of nonsense. The snake had a real talent for crafting a somewhat interesting conversation out of just about anything that popped into his head.

Robin would nod along and agree with whatever the serpent said. He was obviously only halfway interested in what Ghiaccio had to say, but this did not deter the snake in the least. It was not like there was anything else for Robin to do out here but listen to Ghiaccio's mildly intriguing stories. Hearing the snake complain constantly was slightly better than being surrounded by an eerie silence.

This was how they spent most of their time walking back and forth from the mansion to the river. So much time was needed to be filled with something even remotely entertaining to keep the duo from slicing their own throats just toe escape their boredom.

Ghiaccio danced around Robin's shoulders as he spoke. He made sure to sound as theatrical and melodramatic as possible just to keep the tactician's attention. It was not an easy task despite Ghiaccio practically screaming into his ears.

"Of course, this was _way_ before I met you," Ghiaccio informed.

"Uh-huh," Robin nodded with a thousand yard stare.

The snake seemed impartial to the fact that Robin was slowly being put into a trance from having to endure all of this mindless complaining.

"So I'm pissed, right," Ghiaccio continued with artificial irritation just to further illustrate his point. "This guy comes in out of nowhere and starts asking me a bunch of dumb questions. First of all, I had no idea who this person was and that's never a good sign, especially when the bastard somehow figures out where I live."

Ghiaccio leaned in close to Robin, causing the tactician to stop and lean back to preserve his own personal space. "Do you wanna know what he asked me," Ghiaccio inquired aggressively. "Do you want to know what that bastard said!? Huh!?"

"What did he say?"

The snake took a deep breath, setting the atmosphere for what was sure to be the most shocking revelation revealed to Robin in recent memory.

"'I'll go for half the price.' That's what he said!"

"No way," Robin mumbled in a bored voice.

"I'm not lying! That bastard tried to pull one over on me! _Me!_ Do you know who I am!? There isn't anything better than me! I'm the pinnacle of evolution! The greatest of Mother Nature's achievements. Hell, that bitch has wet dreams about me! I'm number one, Robin! Top of the freaking world!"

Robin said nothing to his self-absorbed rambling. He merely continued to follow along while occasionally scanning the nearby trees and brush to see if he could spot Tharja anywhere. However, he still had not managed to catch a glimpse of her for the past three hours.

Ghiaccio eventually calmed himself down and quickly refocused the conversation on the overarching conflict of the story.

"Anyway, I told the guy that he'd have a better chance of getting hit by a meteor than buying the manor at that price. A snake's gotta eat, right?"

"Absolutely," Robin agreed. "If anything, you would have lost money out of the whole ordeal despite not actually paying for that property in the first place… _I think._ "

"I might as well have lost money," Ghiaccio coldly snarled. "Then this guy started playing the victim card. You see, at that time, the Lost Ones were marching across the river and exterminating everyone after they one this huge war for supremacy. That's one of the biggest reasons I was never able to sell that rundown manor. This guy comes in the thrall of all that looking for a place to hide his family or some shit, but I'm not running a charity. This dude expects half of what I offered even though I said from the very beginning that the price is nonnegotiable. Either take it or leave it and go get slaughtered by the Lost Ones!"

The serpent was interrupted by the sound of Tharja's voice calling out to them. Robin turned around to see what she wanted. He and Ghiaccio were both stunned to see a young woman standing to at Tharja's right side.

She was about the same height as Tharja. Her hair was long and dark. The woman's hairstyle was borderline identical to Tharja's. She even wore a bizarre headdress, although, it was drastically different from the one seen on Tharja's head. Her outfit was very similar as well. It was far more flamboyant with golden beads wrapped around her arms. She had extremely elaborate pants and decorative red bands all over her outfit.

Even her posture was similar to that of Tharja's. She constantly bit down on the tip of her thumb and stared at Robin with an unreadable but incredibly creepy look.

Robin was hesitant in speaking in the presence of who he was convinced to be Tharja's long lost twin sister. He could not figure out if all of Ghiaccio's droning on about irrelevant topics and stories had affected his brain so much that he was hallucinating. After overcoming the initial shock of this sight, he parted his lips and uttered a response.

"Oh, there you are, Tharja. I see you've made a new... _friend?_ "

Tharja nodded. "This is Rhajat," she muttered in her usual cold and depressing tone. "Rhajat, this is my beloved Robin and his pet snake Ghiaccio."

" _Who are you calling pet!?_ "

Rhajat ignored Ghiaccio's shouting and followed Tharja's introduction up with a greeting of her own. "Hi, Robin. Hi, Ghiaccio."

She then glinted to Tharja, taking her eyes off of Robin for only a brief moment. "You were right. That snake really does talk. _Interesting_."

"I bumped into her while I was stalk… I mean observing you from a distance," Tharja informed. "Rhajat seems to be in the same position we are in. She claims to be lost in these woods with no idea of how she got here and very little memory of her life prior. I invited her to travel with us."

Ghiaccio and Robin exchanged worried glances. Neither of the two had anything to say about this. It was far too bizarre for either of them to fully process. Fortunately, Robin had a means of performing a 'clean' exit. Robin immediately carried out this plan. He abruptly turned away from them and kept walking as if nothing had ever happened.

"So, what were you saying?"

Ghiaccio perked up once more and totally snapped out of the daze he was previously ensnared in. He narrowed his eyes furiously and resumed his charged lecture right from where he left off.

"Right, so I'm trying to get the pricing through this shit-flinging neanderthal's thick, inbred skull and he's just not having any of it..."

As Robin moved further and further away from the two girls their conversation became more and more difficult to eavesdrop on.

Rhajat turned to Tharja and curiously tilted her head. "What are they talking about?"

"Real estate, I think."

"Boring," Rhajat sighed.

She noticed that they were clearing a little too much distance. Eventually, they would be left behind entirely. Rhajat grinned when an idea spawned from the depths of her mind. "They're getting away. Want to follow them? We can study your friend's breathing patterns during his lengthy trips on foot or look for visual queues that would hint at what sort of emotions he's currently experiencing."

"Sounds like fun," Tharja agreed with an equally devious smile. "Follow me."

The two promptly ran off into the brush and hid from the more open areas of the forest. They crawled their way through thickets and thorns just to stalk someone who was already fully aware of their presence.

Tharja was utterly thrilled to have stumbled upon someone with so many similar 'interests.' She was certain that such a person could only be found in the depths of this mysterious forest. Where most would be horrified by such a surreal world, Tharja relished in the darkness underneath that hellish canopy.

* * *

 _Note: One fun fact about the town featured in this chapter is that it is modeled after the village featured in Mayan mythology. The village was described to be hidden within the Maya underworld Xibalba (hence the name of_ _Jade's_ _sister story). I find that ironic because, at one point, this was supposed to be the primary setting of_ _Xibalba_ _until I scrapped the village entirely. However, I really liked the area so I found a way to rework it into_ _Jade_ _as Lyndis' home._

 _This myth was one of the primary roots of both stories. I played around with the idea of introducing characters that were more relative to Mesoamerican deities, but the only person to survive that initial phase of planning was Ghiaccio who is a loose reference to Kukulkan and Quetzalcoatl. The irony to be found here is that Ghiaccio is not even a K'iche' term. It's actually Italian for 'ice.'_

 _Now, in regards to the inclusion of Rhajat. I do not intend to make Jade a massive hodgepodge of Fire Emblem crossovers. Aside from Lyndis and Rhajat, Jade is centered around the Awakening cast._


	8. Druid

**Druid**

Chrom had his fellow Shepherds retreated further inside the mansion to create a secure area with which to fight back from.

Normally, he would call his comrades to arms against such a hostile abomination, but he decided against it. Charging forth and attempting to kill the thing almost seemed too easy. There was something terribly unnatural about the monster, specifically the numerous little plants and vines that sprouted from the creases of its armor. The last thing he wanted to do was run a risk of having someone injured out in this unfamiliar territory even with such a skilled healer in their midst.

Out of the three stories that made up the manor, the Shepherds made sure to barricade themselves as high above the ground as they could go. From there, he could scout ahead and root this creature out. That was about as far as Chrom's plan had gone.

Chrom now led Gregor down the nearest stairwell with the intent of discovering the source of a suspiciously loud sound on a lower floor. Gregor followed with his hand on his sword, ready to unsheathe the blade at a moment's notice.

They were drawn to these stairs after not one but a series of loud bangs sounded off from somewhere down below. It was insanely dark and every creak in the loose floorboards sent a chill down both of their spines.

Gregor eventually worked up the courage to speak out on the matter. For the longest time, he wanted to remain as quiet as possible to keep from alerting that hideous monster. However, it was becoming apparent that they were going to have to face this thing very soon if they kept straying down the stairs.

"Gregor is not cowardly man," he gruffly whispered. "But maybe it is better idea to stay with friends upstairs."

"I called that tactical retreat to minimize casualties as much as possible," Chrom said in a hushed tone. "Now that everyone is in a secure area, you and I are going to move on ahead and slay this beast before it has time to harm anyone."

"Strange, you bring Gregor instead of Frederick."

Chrom glinted over his shoulder and nodded at Gregor's observation. "I gave him and the others the task of keeping the top floor secure while we go hunt this thing down. We will need a safe haven in case a tactical retreat is needed."

"Are you sure this is best plan? Splitting up? What if monster wants Gregor and Chrom alone?"

"Right now, I fear it's the only option. We will just have to be cautious from here on out. There is no telling where this thing is hiding or what kind of tricks it has up its sleeve."

* * *

From a safe distance, Lyndis observed with intrigue as Lon'qu hunted for food. Hours rolled by and just as Lyndis had predicted, he turned up with nothing. She tried to explain what he was doing wrong, but he would simply run away from her each time she spoke.

She finally caught up to him after one particular incident where she ran all the way to the waterfall just to avoid her. He was quite a peculiar one. Lyndis could not fully understand this enigmatic behavior. The only thing she did know for certain was that he was traveling a little too far from home. Lyndis began checking over her shoulder. At this hour, only bad things could come their way.

"Hey buddy," she called out as Lon'qu waded through the water just to get away from her.

He groaned quietly but kept moving through the shallow pool. Lon'qu was fully prepared to swim for it should the need arise.

"You're not gonna catch anything like this," Lyn insisted. "I'm telling you! There is a gimmick you must take into account. If you do not, then you'll starve."

"What gimmick," Lon'qu growled.

"I think it's a little too late to continue this hunting trip," Lyndis replied, changing the subject out of nowhere. "It's dangerous to be out and about at night. I have food stored back in town. Why don't I explain it to you there?"

Lon'qu furrowed a cynical brow at the woman. She was not making any sense. He did not even realize night had fallen. When he looked up, he could not even see the sky. He had not been able to see it since he woke up in that dark room hours ago. He could only see the canopy.

"How do you know it's nighttime?"

"When you're trapped here for a long time, you sort of just know these things."

That was quite an awful answer, but Lyndis did not bother trying to elaborate on her statement. Lon'qu glared at her in silence. Lyndis was stunned to see him finally comply with her advice. He slowly made his way out of the water and back onto land where Lyn was waiting, although, he made sure to always keep a safe distance from her.

He grumbled to himself as he shambled back to the old town. Lyn shook her head at his stubbornness and followed him just as she had been doing all day.

* * *

The calm sound of running water filled Lucina's ears while she searched for her Falchion. It took her much longer than she expected. Her poor eyesight still remained unhealed which did not help her search and she could not quite remember where she dropped it.

She moved cautiously throughout the area, not wanting to draw attention to herself. Lucina could hear voices and laughter nearby. Ghiaccio's friends were still in the area, occupying this section of the river.

Suddenly, Lucina felt her foot land on a metallic surface. She looked down to see the glistening metal reflections of blue light dancing along the blade. She had finally found her lost sword. Progress was being made and she almost could not believe it. Lucina stepped back with a gasp and immediately went to pick it up. After all of the torment, she went through today, this seemed too good to be true.

The woman could not help but flinch at every last creaking sound that entered her ears. At any moment, the forest was going to throw another horrific obstacle for her to dance around. The only question was when that obstacle would appear.

However, the retrieval of her father's blade was uplifting after a day of total darkness. She may have lost a fair bit of her vision, been traumatized by disgusting humanoid plants, and humiliated by a mere viper with a nasty attitude, but at least she had a small hope for survival. Lucina forced a pained smile as she peered at herself through Falchion's surface. What a trip it's been all to reclaim the weapon promised to her by birth.

She then asked herself another question as she stood there in the lonely blue depths of the forest. A question that had not occurred to her until just now.

" _What do I do now?_ "

* * *

The walk back to the mansion would normally be a grating experience for Tharja. However, her new friend was able to provide a bit more entertainment and made this boring trip somewhat more bearable.

It was very hard to stalk Robin without being noticed as most of the plants shined with blue radiance and naturally drew attention. They observed Robin from behind one particular bush that had no glowing leaves and was nestled in a particularly dark corner of the woods.

Rhajat was busy plucking leaves off of the large plant that acted as their only means of cover. She would then shred them apart into smaller pieces just to pass the time. As the night went on, Rhajat was forced to listen to more and more boring arguments over that serpent's attempts to sell his home. She was beginning to wonder what Tharja found to be so interesting about that young man with the white hair.

Eventually, she decided to outright ask her fellow stalker. "We've been out here listening to that snake complain for well over ten hours," Rhajat grumbled. "There's something mildly entertaining about watching that 'Robin' guy. I would much prefer it if the serpent would just curl up in a ditch and die, though. He's been siphoning the fun out of this whole day."

"I don't like him either," Tharja mumbled. "But as long as no harm comes to Robin, then what do I care about some snake's ambition?"

"So, what are they trying to do out here," asked Rhajat.

"I have been intentionally kept out of the loop of things. Whatever they're looking for is a mystery to me. Robin probably does not have a clue either. He's just been blindly following Ghiaccio's orders so far."

The conversation ended after that. Rhajat returned to her mindless tearing of nearby leaves and Tharja continued to watch Robin. Eventually, he and Ghiaccio would move too far away and the girls would have to move up a bit to watch them and the cycle would repeat itself. They would go on to discuss hexes and compare techniques for said curses all the while keeping a close eye on Robin as they made their way back to the manor.

* * *

Gregor failed to realize just how far head of Chrom he had gotten. He stopped and looked back to see if he could find the blue-haired Exalt nearby, but he saw nothing other than an empty corridor. How did it even happen? Not but a mere ten minutes ago, Gregor was behind Chrom, keeping a close eye on their surroundings and providing him with backup. Now, the situation had changed.

He wanted to call out and wait for a response, but Gregor knew that was not a good idea. Even if he wanted to give away his position, he simply could not. His throat was as dry as a desert and his lips refused to part with each other. He was stuck there in the dark halls of an unfamiliar mansion with only the dead silence of the night and the uncomfortable feeling that a pair of huge, soulless eyes were watching his every move from the shadows.

The mercenary kept on moving through the halls until he was forced to stop once more after a short interval of searching. He realized just how truly lost he was. Every corridor looked exactly the same. There were differences to be found and indicators to remind him of where he was in relation to the stairwell, but it was far too dark to see any of these landmarks.

Gregor gasped when he suddenly spotted movement up ahead. He could not be certain if it were merely his eyes playing tricks on him and emulating movement but he was not willing to dismiss what he had just seen when there was an actual monster running amok on the property.

For a split second, it was as if time itself had stopped. Gregor waited to see what would happen while gripping his blade tightly. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw a scrawny but imposing figure not running, but crawling out of the shadows on all fours. He instinctively swung his sword downward, but that armored monster slid out of the path of his blade and kept charging him.

The thing leaped off of the floor and planted his left palm against Gregor's face. The monster then threw Gregor to the ground. Unfortunately, the mercenary dropped his sword during the fall. The creature gave him no time to react. He grabbed a hold of Gregor's feet and dragged him into a nearby room while he called out for back up.

Somehow, the door was slammed shut after he was dragged out of the hall. It was all a blur after Gregor hit the floor and far too dark to see clearly, but it was obvious to Gregor that someone else had to have shut the door.

Gregor found himself pinned down by the mute monster. He was face down on the floor with that thing sitting on his back. The creature slowly stroked the back of his head as if to calm him down. Of course, that only served to make him more nervous.

Suddenly, the sound of metal boots clicking against the wooden floor flooded the once silent room. Gregor then noticed another one of these horrific knights walking around in front of him. He was unable to see anything other than the knight's boots. Even in this darkness, Gregor managed to see a few vines wrapping around the armor just like the monster that now had him pinned to the floor.

A small piece of paper slowly floated to the floor in front of Gregor. He followed it with his eyes as it fell. A folded letter that spoke the words these silent aberrations refused to say themselves. Confused by their lack of further hostility, Gregor worked up the courage to ask the question that now lingered in his mind.

"W-What is this," he stammered under the weight of the first knight. "Who are you? What do you want with Gregor and friends?"

The knights ignored his questions. Gregor heard the sound of glass breaking behind him and shortly after, he felt the weight of the first knight disappear from his back. He immediately turned around and scanned the room. He was all alone. The window to his left was shattered and the two knights had already left the manor.

Instinctively, he picked up the paper and frantically unfolded it. This was a futile act as Gregor did not have a hope of reading it in the dark. He listened to the sound of rapid footsteps down the hall followed by the sound of Chrom calling out for him.

Gregor stood up off of the floor and shambled over to the door. He threw it open to find Chrom on the verge of passing him by. Chrom froze for a moment until he realized that it was Gregor who was now standing before him.

"Are you all right," asked Chrom. "I heard screaming."

Gregor merely huffed at Chrom's 'excellent timing.'

* * *

Lon'qu sat in a corner of Lyn's dark house. He made sure to find a spot that was a fair distance away from her while still being close to a window which he was totally prepared to throw himself through should Lyndis draw too close.

To his luck, she stayed in her spot on the opposite side of the room. She may be the only reason he had the privilege of eating something tonight, but he was still not about to go within ten feet of her.

"What of this gimmick you keep going on about," asked Lon'qu. It was the first time he had spoken since they had returned from the wilderness. He intended to not utter a word to the woman, but the silence of this place was beginning to get into his head. He simply had to say something just to keep from going a little bit crazy.

Lyndis smiled at him and nodded her head. "Yes. The means of catching prey in the forest."

Lon'qu noticed how reluctant she appeared to be when giving this information. It was such a curious sight to see her shuttering about the same trick she was yapping on about earlier.

"The reason you were unsuccessful in your hunt today is because you had the wrong intention," Lyndis informed. "It was something that my friends and I had to learn the hard way and I'm afraid you will have to as well even though I'm about to give you the answer. The key to a successful hunt is leaving your home with the intent not to kill, but to cause pain."

He furrowed a brow at her. Lon'qu was expecting her to say something about his soul not entwined with nature or some other nonsense along those lines. What he got was infinitely worse.

"Someone once told me that it's almost like feeding your soul," Lyndis continued, her tone becoming quieter as she spoke. "You can't just go outside and look for something to kill. The forest recognizes this intent. Instead, you have to go out there and look for a means to hurt another living being as much as you possibly can. Then you have to bring this resolve into reality. If you can learn to do this then you will have all the food you could possibly want."

Lon'qu was speechless. So far, he had experienced nothing but kindness from this woman, and now she was telling him to seek out the pain of others. There was a glimmer of psychosis in her eyes. Her smile was nothing more than a distant memory now.

She sat there in anticipation for what he had to say about this dark matter. His response was exactly what she had expected.

"You're sick. Are you honestly telling me that the only way to find an animal out there is to leave with the intent of torturing it and then carrying out said torture?"

Lyn shamefully nodded her head. "That's right. I know this first hand. When my friends and I first came here, we had no idea what to do. There wasn't a single animal in sight and none of us were willing to taste any of the weird glowing plants. When we got desperate, we started to try them despite how intimidating they looked. They were all toxic. None of us died because of them, but we never found a single fruit or vegetable that did not make our stomachs recoil in nausea. Soon, we met a native who told us the secret."

Her words were cut off by the sound of shuffling just outside the house. This disturbance caused Lon'qu to freeze in apprehension. He knew something was right outside those walls, listening to them. He could feel an unforeseen interloper bearing down on them with disturbing intrigue.

Lyn clearly heard it as well otherwise, she would not have stopped talking. However, she merely smiled and ignored it before continuing on with her dark tale.

"I was the first to try it out. At that time, I was so desperate to find a meal that I was willing to try anything. Then, by some miracle, I stumbled upon a white rabbit. It was impossible to miss the thing out there. I realized what that person said was right when I learned that only myself and a few others who followed the same technique were able to catch food and feed the rest of our group."

"You capture your prey alive and torture it? You really are disturbed," Lon'qu retorted harshly. "Your justification for your actions is almost laughable. To think that a forest could reward people with a successful hunt so long as it is fated that they will torture their catch ruthlessly."

"I agree," Lyndis said without a hint of protest. She hugged her knees tightly and looked down at her feet, avoiding his cold and accusing gaze. "I used to cry myself asleep at night replaying the sounds of their awful screams. After awhile, though, it stopped affecting me. So long as I could ensure that my comrades and I were taken care of then I was able to forget those pained howls and rest easy after the fact. In other words, I think you should just let me find food for you. I wouldn't want the forest to destroy your soul like it did to me."

* * *

Robin and Ghiaccio were closing in on the manor. After a day of walking, they finally agreed to take a break and have a seat underneath the nearest tree. The fact that Tharja had not shown herself for the entirety of this trip was beginning to irk Robin that she was hiding with an accomplice who was probably helping her brew some horrible plot while he and his scaly friend were left in the dark.

The thought seemed to have crossed Ghiaccio's mind as well. The snake flickered his tongue around for a little while, trying to see if he could sniff out her location. When that plan failed, Ghiaccio lowered his head and whispered into Robin's ear.

"Who the fuck was that Tharja look alike we saw earlier?"

Robin snickered at his question. "A little late on the uptake aren't you?"

"Forgive me for trying to block out that whole encounter," Ghiaccio hissed. "One crazy stalker bitch is bad enough but two!? I find myself wondering if we've entered the gates of Hell or not. What did we do to receive such a cruel form of punishment? I'm just an average snake trying to live a quiet life, ya know? I don't need this shit. So what if I kill a bunch of people on a regular basis? Other people do worse, am I right?"

"You are truly the symbol of benevolence," Robin said with a sarcastic smirk.

Ghiaccio lightly tightened his grip around Robin's neck in response. His little jokes were not at all helpful in answering his questions. He was about to ask a few of them again when he suddenly lost interest in the topic.

The snake spotted something in Robin's hand. Ghiaccio tilted his head and stared at the object that glistened when in the presence of the dim blue lights in the vicinity. He stretched out his body to get a closer look at the object. He could not help but flinch at the sight of a golden ring. One that looked to be a man's wedding ring.

Ghiaccio remembered the deal he cut with Tharja and decided that now would be a brilliant time to work on upholding his word. That would be a pretty difficult task for Ghiaccio to pull off if it turned out that Robin was already married to some random woman he had never heard of before.

"What the fuck is that," asked Ghiaccio.

Robin gasped at his reaction. The two stared at each other blankly for a moment as if neither of them was on the same page. "Uh," he stammered. "Have I not shown this thing to you before? I don't know what it is but I was wearing it when I first woke up."

"Were you married or something?"

The tactician shook his head. "I don't believe so."

"You don't believe so? Then why do you have that ring?"

Robin shrugged his shoulders. He tried to recall the origins of this ring, but he came up with nothing. The most he could remember was traveling through a jeweler which he immediately assumed was somehow correlated to the ring as he would have no other reason to go to such a random place.

Ghiaccio looked away and hissed at his silence. "Who would want to marry you, anyway? Tharja? That's the only woman I know of who's stupid enough to marry your sorry ass."

"Coming from the snake who lives in an unsalable trash heap."

"You did not just say that," Ghiaccio coldly stated.

He lifted his head high above Robin's and stared down at the tactician as if he had just committed an unforgivable sin.

"Just you wait. One day, that place will be sold. I'll sell it some idiot for double the market value and I will have the last laugh!"

* * *

Once Gregor and Chrom regrouped with the other Shepherds on the third floor, Lissa made an effort to find a few candles to add a bit of light to the otherwise pitch black room they had all gathered in. After everyone had settled down, Gregor handed the letter to Chrom who in turn held it above one of the candles and read out the contents of this message.

" _To Ghiaccio._ _The Druids of the Faceless City wish to have a word with you. Meet us_ _near_ _the cenote to the east_ _of your abode_ _. You have two days to comply. Do not_ _make light of our time, snake_ _."_

Virion was the first to say anything. He cracked a smile and placed a confident hand on his hip. "Ah, and who might this Ghiaccio fellow be? Perhaps he or she is the true owner of this property, hence why that monster showed no interest in fighting us."

"This makes sense," Gregor agreed. "Maybe monster only attacked Gregor because he swung blade at him."

Chrom skimmed the brief but blunt letter over and over again. He expected to find some hidden meaning in something so obvious, but he found nothing of the sorts.

"They could have been staking this place out just as we attempted to do," the Exalt suggested. "I wonder how many of them were here, to begin with. I never even considered there to be more than one of them until Gregor informed me of the situation downstairs. My stupidity could have gotten you killed. I apologize."

"No apologies. It is not Chrom's fault," Gregor dismissed with a careless shrug of his shoulders.

Chrom handed the letter back to Gregor without a better idea about what to do with it. The only thing he wanted to do now was experience a bit of fresh air. As everyone began debating over what this encounter meant, Chrom picked up one of the candles and made his way to the hallway. He stopped just before leaving the room and looked back to his comrades.

"I will be back later," he announced in a quiet voice.

Frederick perked up and turned to face his Exalt. "Where are you headed, sir?"

"Outside," Chrom admitted. "This place is getting a bit claustrophobic."

Frederick instinctively protested his decision but Chrom shambled down the hall, ignoring his weary knight's advice to stay put.

* * *

The walk downstairs was far less tense than last time. Chrom shambled down each step with lethargic movements. He could scarcely keep his eyes open. All night he and the others had been awake while they kept an eye out for that twisted monster who was only attempting to relay a message to a person they had no connections with.

Normally, the eerie creaks and groans would send shivers down his spine yet within this exhausted state, nothing could faze him. All he wanted was a bit of fresh air before he began the hunt for a place to sleep and no bump in the night was going to stop him.

That careless visage changed when he neared the front door that was positioned close to the stairs. He only made it about halfway down the entrance hall when he saw the doorknob slowly turning. This movement was followed by the sound of muffled voices coming from outside.

Chrom watched with a puzzled expression as the front door flew open. A young man dressed in a familiar robe. He recognized the man as soon as he spotted that head of white hair.

Robin walked into the mansion, so focused on his bizarre conversation with the snake wrapped around his neck that he failed to even notice Chrom standing right there. Chrom was shocked to see that serpent speaking. He did not want to believe his own eyes when he saw the snake's mouth moving in perfect sync with every word spoken.

"It's just retarded, man," the snake snarled as Robin turned around and held open the door as if waiting for someone else to follow him in.

Chrom's assumption was proven correct when two darkly dressed women walked in and simultaneously leaned against the wall next to the door. They both looked almost identical, but Chrom could only recognize one of the women. Robin's crazy stalker instantly spotted him standing there near the stairs and glared at him after the initial shock of seeing him passed.

Tharja said nothing and neither did the woman next to her. They merely stared at him and waited for Robin to take notice.

"The amount of shit I've gone through with realtors and I haven't come any closer to actually selling the place," the snake rambled on as Robin tiredly threw the door shut. "And don't even get me started on that redneck bastard who used to mount his cousin in my backyard! Why does that have to happen here!? I mean I realize the place looks abandoned, but why do people feel the need to have an incestuous affair on my fucking lawn!? That's the kind of shit that lowers the value of the whole damn place! I swear, that incest shit pisses me off, man!"

The duo froze in place when they finally took notice in Chrom. Despite Robin knowing exactly who he was, Ghiaccio managed to get the first word out.

"Oh, potential buyer!? I'm so sorry if you waited for long. My friend and I weren't expecting anyone to drop by. Well, as you can see, this a lovely area with limitless potential for growth. If it's cattle your into, there's plenty of space. Farming crops? Well, you're not going to find better soil..."

Robin and Chrom both ignored the snake's attempt to sell the house. The snake became extremely angered when he noticed the lack of interest on this stranger's part.

Tharja silently led Rhajat to the shadows where the duo watched with intrigue as Robin and Chrom stared each other down, waiting for someone to break the mute atmosphere. Tharja took a particular interest in the way they looked at each other. One one side, Chrom smiled in both relief and delight to see his long lost friend whereas, on the other side, Robin frowned at the sight of the Exalt.

At long last, Robin managed to say something to the young man who he had not seen since his arrival in the forest.

" _Chrom!? Is that you?_ "


	9. A Bleak Departure

**A Bleak Departure**

The lake was calm and lifeless. Lon'qu refused to believe a word of Lyndis' psychotic speech. He set out the next day to prove her wrong, but this time, he took a different approach. Instead of hunting, he decided to go fishing. He selected a somewhat stable section of the docks after scouring the town for a rusty old fishing rod.

Once he obtained the necessary tool, the next step was to acquire bait which was no easy task. After an hour of searching, he found a single dead minnow and immediately impaled that onto his hook. Now, he was leaned against the rotting planks that lined the edges of the dock and prevented him from falling into the water.

Something that greatly confused Lon'qu was the sources of light above his head. All along the docks were these metal poles with a glowing glass case at the top of them. They each stood a few feet taller than him. Most of them were not operational but the few that were provided him with enough light to navigate the docks safely. He currently stood underneath one of these artificial lights. Small insects swarmed the area and orbited around the light in a massive cloud.

Lon'qu sat there and waited. He would wait there for hours if necessary, but he was determined to make a fool of that sadistic woman no matter how long it took to attract the attention of the fish beneath the surface of the murky lake.

* * *

Robin awoke in his bedroom after a long and peaceful sleep. He made sure to cut his reunion with the Shepherds short as rest was much needed after spending so much time running about in these creepy woods with a pair of stalkers and a snake that did not know when to stop talking.

To his surprise, he woke up to find several things wrong with his room. The first thing he noticed was that Ghiaccio was nowhere to be found. The second and by far the most disturbing difference was found when he looked towards the closet door adjacent to the foot of his bed. Despite the darkness of the room, he could see it was cracked open and a pair of eyes were staring at him from inside. As soon as he saw this, the door was suddenly pulled shut.

There were only two possible explanations for this. Tharja either climbed in through the window or Robin forgot to lock the front door. Either way, she was in the room with him. He did not bother opening the closet. Instead of dealing with his stalker, he immediately left the room without uttering a single word to the woman hiding in the shadows.

* * *

As soon as Robin reached the bottom of that spiraling stairwell, he heard a pair of familiar voices arguing in the next room over. He rolled his eyes upon learning the gist of the conversation. Once again, Ghiaccio was busy trying to sell his house, presumably to Chrom, but Robin showed no desire to see for himself.

" _Come on_ ," Ghiaccio's pleading voice exclaimed with a faint echo. "You're a king, right? A king has gotta have a big mansion!"

"My title is Exalt," Chrom's voice sounded off from the other side of the wall.

Ghiaccio rolled his eyes dismissively at his correction. "Don't get caught up in the semantics of it all. My point is this; a leader is only as good as the big ass house he lives in. That and dick size but let's not worry about what you don't have. Let's try to focus on what you _could_ have. With just a few lifetimes worth of backbreaking labor, this old mansion could become the staple of grotesque excess and power. At the end of the day, that's what every ruler wants! So what do you say? If you can pay up now, then you could tax the ever loving shit out of your people. They may not like it, but who cares about them, am I right?"

Robin rolled his eyes and prepared to head the other direction when suddenly, he felt a finger lightly tapping his shoulder. At first, he assumed it was Tharja or perhaps even her new friend who looked exactly like her, but when he turned around, he saw an all too familiar girl with bizarre looking pigtails smiling at him.

Despite returning to the mansion in the dead of night, this was the first he had seen of any other Shepherds aside from Chrom. He knew there were several familiar faces accompanying him as Chrom said this to him before Robin marched up to his room and passed out. He barely uttered a word to Chrom, let alone anyone else.

He forced a smile at the sight of Chrom's only remaining sister. Whether he was actually pleased to see her or not was a mystery to Lissa. Nevertheless, she greeted him with a friendly but uncomfortably tight embrace, knocking the breath out of Robin when their bodies collided.

"Robin! It's good to see you again! Chrom said you got here last night but I never saw you."

"Can you let go of me, now," Robin coldly inquired before practically shoving her off. Lissa stumbled back but wrapped her arm around the wooden railing of the stairs to keep herself from falling over.

Her smile did not fade despite Robin's hostility. "Not a morning person are you," she teased. "Well, I don't think it's still morning, but whatever. So, how did you end up here."

Lissa's familiar smile jogged his lost memories of her as soon as he laid eyes on her. Robin found it rather challenging to keep his cold composure around someone so cheerful. With a smile so genuine, he began to wonder how long she and the others had actually been here. It could not have been for nearly as long as he had.

"I have no idea," Robin murmured after some hesitation. "How did you people manage to find our home. More importantly, what compelled you to enter without permission."

Lissa widened her eyes in surprise. She averted her eyes away from him without a clue as to how to respond. Eventually, she managed to say something that would address his odd concern. "Do you not know? We were trapped in here by that monster who left hours before you showed up. Did no one tell you this?"

"I went to bed fairly early after our return," Robin sighed. "Forgive me for not bothering to greet everyone as Ghiaccio might have done."

"Speaking of which, I never thought I would meet a talking snake," Lissa said with a laugh.

The tactician nodded his head agreeably. At one point, he could have easily said the same thing about himself. "Well, I had better go see your brother now. I'm curious as to how you people wound up in the forest."

"Oh! Well, follow me then," Lissa proclaimed as she marched off towards Chrom's location. Robin followed her without any objection.

* * *

It had been about an hour since Lyn woke up from her slumber. She lied there in the bed she had claimed as her own and watched the flakes of old paint drift down from the ceiling and walls. As always, she did nothing but replay old memories in her head over and over again. Once she grew bored of that, she pulled herself out of bed and shambled toward the nearest window.

Nothing dared to stir in this ghost town she had called home for half a decade. There was the odd shadow that moved around out of the corner of her eye but nothing more. The sight of the town grew stale within a matter of seconds. She turned away from the window and headed outside to go about her daily routine.

* * *

After her basket was filled with the radiant flowers that littered the tree lines outside of the village, Lyndis set off to the lake. It was deathly quiet on the shore. She spotted Lon'qu stubbornly casting a rod into the lake repeatedly. He stood far out on the docks, ignorant to her presence. Lyn smiled at the sight of him. The town was at least a little less lonely now that there was another 'living' soul residing in the area.

Lyn left him alone and headed off toward the line of graves facing the water. The flowers she had left just yesterday had all stopped glowing. They were not exactly dead, but no longer could they share their radiant blue light with the dearly departed. Lyndis placed her basket on the ground and stepped up to the nearest grave. The handmade tombstone with the name 'Rath' carved on its surface.

She knelt down and removed a handful of old flowers that were nestled underneath the stone. Lyndis leaned back and dropped them into one of the two segments of her basket. The one on the right was filled with fresh flowers while she used the other to store the old ones.

After placing the new flowers over the grave, Lyndis moved on to the next resting place and repeated the process. She was able to tend to five more graves when she perked up at the sound of Lon'qu's voice calling out to her.

"Is this what you do all day," he coldly inquired.

Lyn smiled at him as if all was well. "Sometimes I have to ensure that overgrowth doesn't encroach on the graves. Otherwise, this is pretty much it. I've been coming here every day for the past five years to tend to them."

"Sounds like a depressing life."

"Harsh."

The conversation ended after that. Lon'qu watched as she went about her business with a forced smile. His expression was exactly the opposite.

"Hey," he announced sternly. His tone only earned him a brief glance before Lyn returned to her work. "I'll be heading out in the next few hours."

That was what got Lyn's attention. She placed the basket back onto the ground and turned to him, stunned by his abrupt announcement.

She tilted her head and smiled to try and hide her disappointment. "Leaving so soon? But there's still so much more I have to teach you. If you go, then you'll surely be consumed by the woods beyond. You shouldn't go anywhere. I mean, why would you? Everything anyone could possibly want is right here in this little paradise."

"This _paradise_ is just a graveyard," Lon'qu retorted. "You can continue to wallow in death, but I have better things to be doing with my time than wasting it here in this ghost town. In fact, I would prefer it if you did not follow me."

Lyn's smile finally faded away. She ran her hands through her hair in distress. A reaction that Lon'qu was not expecting to see from someone like her. Her smile quickly returned, although it was a little twisted and lacking any form of real joy.

She took a few steps closer to him, nearly tripping on one of the tombstones in the process. "I said not to leave. Everything is just fine here. It's perfect here! You see, beyond the safety of this town is a world of sadists and monsters. You shouldn't involve yourself with the horrors of the woods. You can stay here forever, you know? I've lived here for the better part of a decade and no one ever bothers the serenity of this place. It's the same peace you could get from the grave! Why would you want to leave?"

Lon'qu stared at her for a moment. He relaxed after she settled down and stopped advancing on him. Her actions were all the confirmation he needed to leave her and the rest of this insanity behind him. He noticed how long it took for her to blink. Lyn stared at him with psychotic eyes, studying him in the same way that he studied her.

"I'm leaving because I do not want to end up like you."

The woman's hands began to shake at the mere thought of such an event occurring. "This place is like heaven. Stay here forever and you will live in bliss for all eternity."

Lon'qu shook his head and turned away from her. He dropped the fishing rod on the ground, no longer interested in catching anything so long as he remains here in this disturbing town.

"You cannot change my mind, woman. The only thing you've succeeded in doing is shown me how damaged your mind is. I will not let my sanity whither away with the rest of this town nor will you. At this rate, you will drive yourself into the same state of sadistic perversion that you have warned me of. Gather what little sense you still have and follow me."

That was the last thing Lyn expected to hear. She gritted her teeth and clenched her hands into fists. "What!? I'm perfectly sane! It's everyone around us who's gone crazy! Beyond this lake are entire cults dedicated to servicing the darkest of fetishes! Everyone lives to sate their own lusts. That is the nature of this place. You may leave but I will never succumb to it!"

"Nonsense, you already have," Lon'qu dismissed in a detached monotone voice. "You described to me just last night how you carve up the unfortunate beasts you capture. You said it yourself. You don't just kill them. You torment them. That is no different than the twisted perversions you have tried to shelter yourself from."

Lyn glanced back to the name on the grave she was standing over. Etched on its surface was the familiar name 'Marcus' and immediately recalled the events leading to his death.

Her silence eventually led to Lon'qu speaking out in her place. "You told me that your friends died as a result of infiltration, correct? You buried them all along this shore. Who caused it?"

"In truth, they did it to themselves," Lyn admitted with a defeated sigh. "When we found ourselves lost in the woods and stumbled upon this place, we made it a temporary base. Then, one day, a member of our group brought back a blue snake. The most bizarre species I had ever laid eyes on. Not only did it have scales bluer than the summer sky, but it also had the mind of a man. It could communicate with us. The thing could actually comprehend complex issues, and reach its own conclusions. A snake that could talk. Letting him join our group was our biggest mistake."

"This isn't some delusion you've cooked up in your head over the years, is it?"

Lyn shook her head, understanding why Lon'qu would think such a thing. She had no idea how to prove it to him, so she continued on with her story.

"I stumbled upon a young boy shortly after Ghiaccio's arrival."

Lon'qu assumed that was the name of this talking snake she was going on about a few seconds ago.

"Unfortunately, it was not the best idea for me to take him in. All of my friends started turning on each other. We started fighting over little stuff. Then violence broke out more and more. After that boy died, I finally confronted everyone about Ghiaccio. I was the first and probably the only one to suspect him to be behind it. That snake ended up rallying them all against me and I was forced to leave for awhile. When I came back, everyone was dead. They had either killed themselves or killed one another. I buried them all as soon as I learned of this and have been caring for their graves ever since."

To Lon'qu's surprise, Lyn began giggling to herself right after explaining this tragedy. "I should have guessed this would happen at some point. Everyone has to die prematurely. It all began when I met Mark after bandits raided my village. I traveled with him, meeting everyone buried beneath my feet after getting revenge on them. These people did so much and they were reduced to nothing more than a pit of shredded flesh and old blood thanks to that nasty little serpent."

"Sounds like you have at least one vengeful bone in your body. Why haven't you acted on it?"

Lyn slowly shook her head at his question. "I've come close. There was a woman who dropped by recently claiming she had seen him. I was willing to temporarily leave this place just to go kill the bastard, but she up and left one day and I have no idea where she went. Given how long it's been since I last saw her, I guess she wound up dying too."

Lon'qu silently thought on her situation. It was entirely possible that she delusional. He did not ignore the idea that she might be lying, but he could not figure out any motivation for her doing so. Either way, there was only one way to prove whether this genius reptile exists or not.

"You have until the end of the day to gather whatever you want to bring with you. I would recommend using that time to think of any leads on the snake's whereabouts. Come find me when you're done."

He immediately headed off for the town, leaving Lyn behind. She did not have the time to debate him even if she wanted to. Instead of chasing after him, Lyn went about her business replacing the flowers on the graves. If this was to be her last day in this town for awhile, she would be certain to take extra special care of them before she left.

* * *

At the sight of Robin and Lissa entering the room, Chrom immediately stood up and smiled at them. Ghiaccio remained coiled up on an old recliner. A piece of furniture which he was kind enough to inform Chrom that no one but himself was allowed to use.

Chrom had no time last night to chat with Robin. Now that he was awake, Chrom was ecstatic to hear what the tactician had been up to all this time.

"Sister! Robin! Awake already?"

"Yeah," Lissa answered as she cheerfully skipped into the room. "I think everyone else is still asleep, though. Not surprising with how little rest we've been getting."

"Tharja is still awake," Robin corrected with a cold shutter.

Lissa looked at him in confusion and shook her head. "No, she isn't. I saw her sound asleep in the attic just a few minutes ago. That other gloomy girl in all black was busy reading something. She didn't even wave when I got there. Speaking of which, I have never met that other girl before. She looks a lot like Tharja. They've got to be related or something."

That sent a shiver down Robin's spine. He recalled what he saw right after he had woken up in his room.

"Oh, you mean… uh… what's her name again," Ghiaccio inquired once he realized that he knew virtually nothing about the woman in question. He glinted at Robin who did not appear to be in a hurry to answer his question. "Well, I don't _think_ they're related. Kind of crazy that she's sleeping in the attic, though. Can't be comfortable."

"That's impossible," Robin interjected. This earned him several suspicious looks, particularly from Ghiaccio who assumed he was referring to the two of them being related in some way. "I saw Tharja when I woke up. How could she be in the attic? Wait, what were you doing in the attic, to begin with? I haven't even set foot up there."

"I asked her to grab a few things," Ghiaccio informed. He did not look too thrilled to see her return empty handed. "However, that was clearly a wasted effort. At any rate, Lissa is right. I'm pretty sure your stalker went up there to take a look at the research done by the previous owner of the property. Don't you remember asking her to help you with that? Honestly, I don't know what you hope to gain from it, but it's your call on you want to waste your time."

Robin took a few steps back. Chrom furrowed a brow at his odd behavior. He extended a calming hand out for him, but the gesture did no good. "Are you alright. You look pale."

"I'll be right back," Robin informed. "There's something I need to check."

With that, he left the room.

The others watched him depart from the room in shock. Ghiaccio was the first to say anything. He chuckled at the sight of Robin's expression.

"What's up with him? Looked like he just saw a ghost." Ghiaccio then wrapped his tail around and moved his rattle underneath his chin in contemplation much like a human would do with their dominant hand. " _Then again!_ Knowing this place, he probably did."

Lissa was still visibly disturbed by Ghiaccio's ability to speak. When he turned to her and smiled, she felt the sudden desire to pinch herself as if she were trapped in a nightmare.

"I take it you didn't find it up there," asked the snake.

"N-no," Lissa stuttered, still not entirely used to the idea of engaging in conversation with a reptile. "I didn't find any stuffed toys up there. Why do you need something like that, anyway?"

"Doesn't matter now," Ghiaccio dismissively snarled. "I'll find it when I get back."

The serpent craned his neck and glared at Chrom. He fought off the urge to mention his run-in with Lucina. An event which Robin made sure to remind Ghiaccio not to speak of when in the presence of her father. Despite his warning, it was still so tempting just to see Chrom's reaction to the story.

Acting on self-restraint, Ghiaccio ignored his eagerness to spill some rather vital information and decided to ask about something more relevant. "Still can't believe the Druids came by to see me. I didn't do anything wrong. If I did, I'm pretty sure they would have done more than just leave some dumb note here for me."

"What would they have done," asked Chrom.

"Oh, probably just ritualistically murdered you and your friends before lining your corpses out on the lawn and burning down my house. After that, they'd most likely write out the very same message in your blood. Of course, that didn't happen which is a good thing."

"Are you leaving soon?"

Ghiaccio nodded. "Definitely. I don't want to piss them off. That would just be dumb. As soon as Robin gets back down here, we're heading out. You guys can lay low here until we return."

"Do you not want any backup," Chrom questioned nervously. "Perhaps we could provide assistance. That monster we encountered last night did not exactly seem like the diplomatic type."

"Nah, just stay here. The cenote isn't that far. If all goes well, we should be right back here in a matter of hours. Not a big deal."

"Just be careful out there."

Ghiaccio giggled at the warning. He had only just met the Exalt late last night and he was already taking a liking into him.

"Don't worry about it. We have no intention of dying today. That would be a real pain in the ass wouldn't it?"

Chrom smiled lightly at the serpent's confidence. For a moment, he almost forgot he was even talking to a snake. From the voice to his mannerisms, this exceptional reptile had the mental capacity to retain his own identity. To Chrom, he appeared more human than some of the people he had met in his life.

The Exalt knew right from the beginning how bizarre this forest could be but nothing could have prepared him for this.


	10. Ghost Town

**Ghost Town**

Robin and Ghiaccio stared down into what looked like the gates of the underworld. A massive sinkhole lied before them. Vines and weeds grew along the edges and draped down into the darkness. The light from the plants in the surrounding area shined down into the cenote, revealing a pool of water down below.

Aside from this one small section, Robin could see nothing else. He gazed into this dark world, half tempted to take the plunge and find out what lurks in that limestone prison. Fortunately, he decided to simply ask Ghiaccio instead of doing something so drastic.

"I've never seen something like this," he admitted in awe. "What would I find if I were to go down there?"

Ghiaccio snickered at the inquiry as he thought of all the wildlife that called this place their home. "A whole lot of stuff. These cenotes are all over the place and home to so many different animals. Crocodiles, fish, parasites, you name it and you can probably find it down there. Of course, you're not going to find any non-aquatic life in them so don't go naming bears or any stupid shit like that. These cenotes are often used to access the underwater labyrinth that runs all throughout the forest. If you've got the equipment, skills, and knowledge to navigate the caves below then you can pretty much go anywhere without having to deal with the Lost Ones."

"Why do we not just use the caves then? It would be a lot less risky than trying to infiltrate the other side of the river."

The serpent hissed in irritation. He coiled tightly around Robin's neck and turned his head to lock eyes with his human companion. "We won't be doing that because you do not have the needed equipment, skills, or knowledge. How long can you hold your breath for, anyway?"

"I don't know, I've never timed it," Robin admitted with an ignorant shrug. "What do you mean by having no equipment? If you are referring to a swimsuit, then no, I don't have anything like that."

"Idiot! I can hold my breath for exactly eleven minutes. That would help me immensely in those caves down there, but I doubt you can say the same. Naturally, a freaking swimsuit wouldn't help you hold your breath. We need specialized scuba gear to go down there. I also feel confident in assuming that neither one of us knows how to navigate the cave systems, so that's totally out of the question."

In the middle of their conversation, a deep and piercing voice spoke out from behind. It was the voice of a male with no emotion or enthusiasm. His words caused the duo to freeze in place momentarily.

" _Yes, it is out of the question._ "

Ghiaccio and Robin both turned around to see who had interrupted them. They both laid eyes on a pair of tall individuals standing before them. The one on the right was covered from head to toe in menacing black armor. He wore an intimidating mask with jagged teeth and other demonic features.

The other stranger was dressed in a similar uniform, albeit with much lighter armor and no helmet to conceal his horrific face. He bore into their skulls with his solid white eyes. He said nothing to them, which made sense given how his mouth was crudely sewn shut.

Both of these ominous knights had various vines and small flowers sprouting from their armor and flesh. That detail alone was enough to indicate to Ghiaccio that these were indeed the same people who left Chrom with that message.

"You must be the people from the Faceless City," Ghiaccio calmly stated while Robin kept quiet. "So, what do you want?"

"We both came here for different reasons," the first knight explained, his voice amplified by his horrifying metallic mask. "I personally needed to meet you here because I wanted to give you a warning. Naturally, I wanted to do this in person so listen closely. Do not enter the Faceless City."

"Is that it? Can I go now."

The Druids glanced at each other, neither one of them found Ghiaccio's attitude particularly entertaining. Regardless of the interruption, the first Druid continued on. "Do whatever you want out here, but do not bring your agendas to our jurisdiction. That is all I have to say. As for my comrade, he would like to be illuminated on a certain matter."

Ghiaccio exchanged suspicious glances with Robin as if the tactician would somehow be able to give him advice this way. He turned his attention back to the knights. The snake glared at the mute knight with the sealed mouth. Ironically, Ghiaccio found it much easier to read the man wearing a mask on the left than the one on the right who's expression was not stern or unwavering, but empty and his solid white eyes were devoid of any hint of a soul.

"What kind of information do you want," Ghiaccio inquired after he had given up on trying to guess the answer just by looking at these two strangers.

"We are looking for details regarding the previous occupants of the manor you now inhabit. Any and all information regarding their fates and the research they were conducting before the fall of human society."

"Ugh," Ghiaccio grumbled. "First Yvo asks me for this shit and now you people!? All right, whatever. I'll talk. It's not like this stuff is relevant anymore."

* * *

A strange fog was slowly advancing on the town. The lights from the woods filled this fog with a sickly turquoise hue. Lyn cautiously made her way through the decrepit paths in between buildings, glancing to every window she passed by.

She often tried to avoid the other homes as best as she could. There was little reason to go inside most of them so it was not a difficult task to uphold. However, the sound of shattering glass from within the home directly to her left caused her to stop and turn towards the closed off entrance.

It was impossible to see what had happened just by peering through the window due to the darkness inside the house. She took a deep breath and opened the front door. An eerie creaking sound caused Lyn to flinch and glance over her shoulder.

Nothing was there as she should have expected. Lyndis returned her attention to the abyss beyond. She hated this house more than any of the others. She despised the look of it and often considered burning it down many times but never acted on such thoughts. It was so dark inside this house. Lyn was unable to see her hand held out in front of her. Not even the light from outside could offer much help in here.

Her eyes soon adjusted to the lack of light and she began seeing vague outlines of the archaic furniture that had been left to rot here so long ago. Lyn had no desire to take in the scenery. She was only here to sate her curiosity and find out what had caused that noise. Without a second thought, she stumbled across the living room and entered what appeared to be the kitchen.

Mold grew on the walls along with various vines and fungi. There was a stale stench lingering in the room. She tried to recall the last time she visited this place, but Lyn failed to remember the specific time.

Lyn scanned the room without bothering to actually go inside. She searched for anything that could have caused the crashing sound. Her eyes slowly lowered down to her feet. There in the darkness, she could just barely make out a dark stain. She recognized the stain of blood without needing to take a closer look at it. She shuttered at the dark memories flashing through her mind.

Suddenly, Lyn felt someone or something approaching her from behind. She could feel someone staring at her from the darkness. Instinctively, Lyn twirled around and gasped in surprise at the sight of Lon'qu standing there in the living room.

"Oh, it's you," she sighed in relief, breathing heavily. "What do you want? I thought you we weren't leaving until the end of the day."

"I just thought you should know that I spotted a group of suspicious looking men moving into the town. I did not confront them nor did I get close enough to hear what they were talking about, but they do appear to be looking for something."

"What did they look like?"

"They wore all black," Lon'qu informed. "They were wearing uniforms but they had no armor on. Very strange."

"The Lost Ones," Lyn muttered to herself. "What are they doing here?"

"I take it this isn't a good thing."

Lyn stepped out of the kitchen and headed towards the door. Lon'qu followed her outside where he promptly pointed to the waterfall and informed her that they were coming from that direction.

She had no idea what to think of the situation. There was always the possibility that someone had sent them here to find her or perhaps it was just a random patrol. Either way, Lyn knew it could only lead to a horrible outcome.

"We should leave now before they find us," Lyn stated after a short period of contemplating the matter. She looked up and met his cold gaze when an idea popped into her head. "Come with me to the lake. It's too risky to head for the waterfall so we'll leave town on a different route."

Lon'qu did not argue with her idea. He merely nodded and allowed her to lead the way. He kept his eyes on the shadows at all times, making absolutely certain that they were not being followed.

* * *

Lucina was almost positive that she had taken a wrong turn at some point. Nothing looked familiar and she could no longer hear the roaring of the river. The situation was making her extremely nervous. Her intention was to tail Robin and Ghiaccio and eventually confront them. Whether that was the best idea given her condition was not something she had put much thought into.

However, somewhere along the way, she had gotten turned around and now had no idea which way to go. Lucina eventually decided to sit down and rest while she thought of a solution. She pushed up her mask as if it were a pair of glasses and began thinking of ways to find her way back to the river.

Her brainstorming was interrupted when she felt a few drops of water landing on her head. Despite the damp and swampy environment, it rarely ever rained here. As such, Lucina was always surprised to feel rain pelting her from above. She looked up out of curiosity only to be horrified at what was clinging to the trunk of the tree, staring down at her.

There above her was a humanoid entity with sickly gray skin. It had a male figure. The aberration looked as if it had been starving for a long time. The monster was practically skin and bones. It had long claws and lifeless blue eyes. However, the feature that disturbed Lucina the most was not its scrawny body, but its baby-like face. The thing quite literally had the face of an infant. Lucina gazed upon its soft features and puffy cheeks. The only aspect of the monster's face that did not resemble an infant was its jagged black teeth. Droplets of drool fell from those horrifying teeth and down onto Lucina.

What little time she was given to react was spent being paralyzed with fear. Suddenly, this abomination relinquished its grasp on the tree and fell on top of her, digging its teeth into the flesh of her shoulder.

Lucina let out a surprised shriek and threw the monster off of her. She then stood up and drew her sword. Lucina waited with Falchion at the ready while the monster recovered from her retaliation. Now that it was on the ground, Lucina was given a clear view of the beast's legs. It had the lower body of a goat with hoofed feet and fur covered legs.

It hissed at her, revealing its long forked tongue. Lucina had no idea why it was hesitating. The thing had no qualms about biting off a chunk of her shoulder. As soon as she felt confident enough to take a step forward, the monster ran off into the brush, leaving Lucina stunned.

She stood there and silently studied her surroundings for a moment. Falchion shook in her trembling hands.

There was no movement in the area. That beast seemed to have lost its nerve after its first attack failed and fled, presumably to find food elsewhere. Regardless of the scenario, Lucina could not possibly let her guard down.

Quietly, she whispered the only question currently lingering in her mind.

" _W-what the hell was that!?_ "

* * *

The mansion's door flew open, allowing a wave of blue light to shine into the darkness of the interior. Robin stepped inside with a frustrated look on his face. Ghiaccio also appeared to be in a rather foul mood. He slammed the door shut and turned around to face the vacant stairwell in front of him.

"We are still going to continue our search, are we not," asked Robin, this being the first time either of the two said anything since they left the cenote.

"Of course," Ghiaccio hissed in anger. "I will not be intimidated by those freaks!"

"Did something happen," a gloomy voice asked from the shadows.

Robin turned to the right to find Tharja standing next to the door with a mischievous grin on her face. That manipulative smile suddenly disappeared behind a harsh frown and disappointed sigh. "Where did you go? You said you would help me research this new project of yours, but so far, I haven't received any help from you at all."

For a split second, Robin almost looked apologetic. Tharja could have sworn she just saw a swift but subtle alteration in his soulless facade. She leaned in closer to him which only resulted in Robin taking a few steps away from her.

The tactician shifted uneasily at her oppressive stare while he thought of a response. "Right, we had to go and deal with the people who left that letter for us last night. Give me a few minutes to speak with Chrom and I'll be up there to help you."

Tharja rolled her eyes at him but complied and silently walked back up the stairs without another word. Robin went his own separate way and headed for the living room.

* * *

The Shepherds sat around the large decaying table that stood in the center of the living room. Frederick was the only one doing anything at the moment. He constantly searched every corner of the room for cobwebs and dust to clean. Chrom watched him the whole time without even trying to convince Frederick to relax for a bit.

Conversations went on. Henry made a plethora of unfunny puns and Virion went about his usual business of trying to woo both Lissa and Cherche at the same time. He failed miserably but with nothing better to do Virion decided to simply continue in his vain endeavors.

Chrom listened to the sound of the someone coming through the front door. From the way everyone else was acting, he realized that he was the only one who heard this. It did not alarm him as he was expecting Robin's return so he remained in his seat and waited for the tactician to enter the room.

Out of nowhere, Chrom heard Virion addressing him. He perked up to see the archer looming over him with his signature posh grin.

"Do you not agree, sir," asked Virion.

Chrom scratched his head in confusion at the abrupt question. "I'm sorry? Do I agree with what?"

"That our first priority should be learning who else has been ensnared in this bizarre realm and who is waiting for us on the other side. Sure, we do need to figure out a way back home, but we cannot in good conscious leave anyone else behind."

"That's been on my mind this whole time, actually," Chrom said with a worried frown. He averted his eyes to the ground as he finally prepared to voice his concern.

Most of the time, Chrom found himself wondering what happened to his wife or better yet his two time-traveling daughters. He genuinely hoped that none of them had become lost in this unsettling forest, but he knew there was currently no way of knowing whether or not this was the case.

"The problem is that we have no way of going about this," Chrom continued. "We're totally lost and none of us have even the faintest resemblance of a clue to indicate how we got here. Trying to find our fellow Shepherds almost seems impossible."

Everyone fell silent at the sound of a cocky voice interrupting their conversation. It was a male's voice that spoke every word with impish intent.

"Sounds to me like you've got quite a predicament on your hands."

All eyes simultaneously looked in the direction of the voice. There near the door stood Robin with a familiar blue snake wrapped around his neck.

Cherche's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Robin's new 'pet.' Never once had she seen such a flamboyantly colored and exotic species of serpent before. Frederick was expecting to see the reptile, but he was still in slight disbelief about its apparent ability to speak. Virion and Gregor were both speechless, this being the last thing they expected to see. Henry kept smiling like a lunatic while he studied the reptile with intrigue.

"Robin," Chrom greeted with a friendly wave. He then exchanged nervous glances with the other Shepherds in the room.

Chrom was about to introduce them to Robin's new friend. He had hoped to do this before the serpent had a chance to horrify everyone with its unusual ability to communicate, but this was clearly asking far too much.

Virion smiled and speak long before Chrom had the chance get a word out. "My, my. What a bizarre pet you have there, Robin. Might I ask for its name?"

"Hey, who are you calling a pet," Ghiaccio snapped.

Virion instantly turned pale at the sight of this talking reptile. A wave of gasps could be heard from the other Shepherds

"Gods," Virion exclaimed. "Did that thing just talk!?"

The serpent let out a loud sigh and lowered his head in disapproval. He glinted at Robin who shrugged at the sight of the snake's cold stare. "My name is Ghiaccio," he informed. "And yes, I did. What of it? You people act like you've never seen a talking snake before."

"That's because none of us have ever seen one before," Cherche interjected. She did her best to keep a calm demeanor in the presence of such a creature, but even she had lost all color in her complexion upon hearing the snake's voice. She then turned her attention to Chrom and smiled at him politely. "Sir, I believe I have discovered what this forest truly is. We appear to be lost in some sort of surreal alternate world where nothing makes sense and everything is just a little bit off. I cite this snake as my primary source of evidence."

Ghiaccio snickered at her reaction. He extended his neck towards her, twisting his head around just for the sake of glaring at her from every possible angle. "Well to me, you're the one who's a little bit off."

Cherche leaned away from the serpent and placed a hand on her chest. "Fair enough, I suppose."

"Ghiaccio here is an inhabitant of the forest," Chrom proudly informed. "With him on our side, we can brave this foreign land and hopefully find a means of returning to Ylisse."

"What luck to have stumbled upon someone with the knowledge we need to survive," Frederick interjected in awe. "Not only that, but our tactician has returned to us as well. The Gods are smiling upon us."

Ghiaccio and Robin looked at each other and simultaneously rolled their eyes. It would appear that Chrom and his allies have gotten the wrong impression from current events. As much as Ghiaccio wanted to crush their hopes, Robin was the first to address the issue.

He spoke in a relaxed tone that totally contradicted his unfortunate news. "I hate to inform you like this, but Ghiaccio and I have our own business to be getting on with. If it is a means of returning to Ylisse you seek, then you've come to the wrong place."

Chrom slowly turned around. He could not believe what he had just heard. He tried reading between the lines while silently analyzing Robin's stern frown. Normally, there was a nonchalant smile on his face, but that smile had since been turned upside down. His knight reacted in a similar away. Frederick crossed his arms and stared at Robin blankly.

"Pardon me, Robin, but I do not understand what you are getting at," Frederick informed, thinking that his ears were somehow deceiving him or that he had failed to comprehend Robin's wording.

"I thought I made myself clear, but apparently I have not," Robin stated, not a single hint of emotion or enthusiasm could be detected in his dry voice. "Ghiaccio and I have our own agenda. I no longer have any interest in leaving this place. I have declared the forest to be my new home. If you people wish to return, then you will have to do so on your own."

"You can't be serious," Chrom practically shouted. "You want to stay here in this desolate place!? Why!?"

He received no answer to his inquiries but that did not deter Chrom in the slightest. "Well? At least give me a reason!"

Robin narrowed his eyes as if to challenge Chrom in some way. He remained unmoved in his position to not give away any information whereas Chrom was determined to obtain a legitimate answer.

Suddenly, Ghiaccio lowered his head and whispered in Robin's ear. The tactician nodded his head at whatever the snake was going on about. Chrom watched this strange interaction play out, wondering just what exactly the snake was saying, but in the end, he would probably never know for sure.

After Ghiaccio had finished voicing his little scheme to Robin, the tactician locked eyes with Chrom. Once again, Chrom could not help but see this oddly flat expression on his friend's face. His frown was depressing and his eyes were practically soulless. Each time Chrom had a real opportunity to process Robin's new attitude, it always left him guessing about what could have possibly happened to Robin during his time in this dark and lonely manor.

"Chrom," Robin announced after a long period of silent staring. "Due to all that we've been through together, I will permit you to live here in the manor for as long as you see fit. You can always count on this property to be your sanctuary while you search for a means of returning to your old life. While I wish you luck on that endeavor, know that I myself will not be accompanying or assisting you in any way. This is my home now. I chose long ago to live out the rest of my days underneath this impenetrable canopy."

Chrom was speechless. In fact, no one said anything after that. With nothing else to add, Ghiaccio loosened his grip around Robin's neck and slid off of his shoulders. Ghiaccio hit the floor and set off to become more acquainted with all of these new faces. Robin, on the other hand, did the exact opposite. He gave everyone a final wave before he headed out of the room, leaving his former comrades behind.

* * *

Lon'qu stood on a steep hill overlooking the town. It was currently to the east of him and soon enough, it would be behind him. The only thing delaying that from happening was, of course, Lyn. He turned around in frustration and glared at her.

Her back was turned to him and her eyes were locked on the town. The only thing she bothered taking with her was her sword and the clothes on her back. Lon'qu was expecting her to bring along a lot of useless junk but that was not the case. He carried whatever food he was able to find but nothing else.

Even though he had succeeded in dragging her from this isolated ghost town, something still irked him about this woman. As he watched her quietly observe her old home, he felt the need to finally address it to her.

"Hey you," he sternly snarled, but Lyn did not face him. "Tell me something. I was anticipating you to put up more resistance when it came to leaving this place. I was fully prepared to leave you behind should such a thing be necessary. Why were you so quick to change your mind?"

Lyn refused to look away from the town. She wanted to burn the sight of it into her mind one last time. The woman observed how the neon blue lights shined down on the old homes and reflected off of the tranquil lake. If it were at all possible, she would have stayed there quietly watching the scenery for all eternity.

This frustrated Lon'qu to no end. "I asked you a question, woman," he snapped.

She finally glanced over her shoulder if not for a microsecond before returning her attention to the town. In a soft tone, she gave her response.

"Perhaps I felt compelled to leave," Lyn muttered. "I'm only just now realizing it, but this town really is a terrible place to live. I always felt like some vengeful spirit was stalking me from the shadows at all times. When alone at night, I would always here bumps or creeks in the night. This only started happening after my friends had all died. At first, I thought nothing of them since the place I lived in was so old that I figured it was only natural. The more it happened, the more it began to bother me. This lake-side village is sick and disturbed. As soon as you talked about us both leaving the town, I knew it was the right thing to do. Contrary to what I believed up until a few hours ago, if we stay here forever, we will be at the mercy of this place and the restless spirits who reside here."

"It sounds as though you knew this from the beginning and still decided to stay here. Why?"

"Who else would have taken care of the graves," Lyn asked in a melancholic whisper. "My friends died here thanks to the meddling of a sociopathic interloper. I wanted to secure a peaceful afterlife for all of them so I spent the past few years caring for their graves. I made sure each of them was absolutely spotless, but that clearly wasn't enough."

"Do you really think those people would have wanted you to spend the rest of your miserable life looking after their corpses?"

Lyn suddenly cracked a cheerful smile. She stepped away from the vista and approached Lon'qu. "You know something? I've known you for a couple of days now and yet I don't believe you ever told me your name. Mind if I ask what it is?"

"Lon'qu."

Lyn's smile grew at the sound of such an odd name. "Mind if I shorten it a bit. Maybe I could call you Lon or Qu? Which one do you like better?"

"Neither of them. You will use my real name or nothing at all."

Another blunt and simple answer. Lyn and already come to appreciate his method of sharing information.

With her final question answered, the woman started off for the forest. She walked right past Lon'qu. He was taken aback by her random burst of energy that seemed to have come out of nowhere. Curiously, he stepped to the side and watched her as she went.

"All right, Lon'qu," Lyndis proclaimed. She then twisted herself around and smiled at him with her hands extended toward the canopy. "We've probably got a long road ahead of us, so I hope you're ready for it. No turning back now!"

She took his silence as a 'yes' and quickly moved on before he had a chance to prove her assumption wrong. "Nothing but sadists and monsters await us from here on out."

Lon'qu was not so eager to believe this. He was infinitely more worried about the mysterious soldiers currently raiding the town as opposed to whatever Lyn was going on about.

For all he knew, these sadists and monsters could all just be part of some delusional world Lyn has created for herself, but he would know for sure soon enough. His eyes wandered to the tree line ahead as he contemplated what could be lying in wait behind those enormous trees.

"Well, we shouldn't keep lingering around here all day," Lyndis continued. "Come on, Lon'qu. Let's go murder some people!"

And just like that, Lon'qu was already beginning to regret his decision to bring this woman along with him.


	11. Gravity Well

**Gravity Well**

A mouse sniffed around for food, completely unaware of the diabolical pair of blue snake eyes watching its every move from behind a nearby shrub. Ghiaccio waited patiently for this moment to come. He smiled cruelly at the sight of what would soon become his next meal.

The serpent kept waiting for the right moment to strike. Soon enough, that time would come. This little rodent made a grave mistake. It ventured too close to Ghiaccio's hiding spot and within the blink of an eye, the snake lunged from the shrub and sunk its fangs into the rat's flesh. He pulled away long before the rat had a chance to defend itself.

As Ghiaccio watched his prey fall into a state of immediate paralysis, he laughed aloud at his own achievement. "Damn, that took forever," he announced to his newest victim. "Well, at any rate, enjoy the pain as it radiates through your body. These last few hours of your life will be miserable indeed. I've had full grown men cry like children after I've bitten them. From what I have been told, it feels like molten lava coursing through one's veins. I can't imagine what that would feel like for a creature as small as you."

Instead of sitting there, Ghiaccio slowly began slithering back to the mansion, leaving the rat to die alone. He was completely unconcerned about what might happen to his meal if left unattended for awhile. This was merely part of his routine.

"See you in a bit," the serpent called out. "I hope you're as tasty as the last one."

* * *

Lon'qu carried a pile of twigs and small logs in his arms. He came to a stop in front of a small stack of old branches and leaves. He allowed the newly acquired sticks to fall out of his arms and onto the pile. Now, the only thing left to do was hunt down a method to start a fire. Lon'qu preferred to at least try and find an alternative before he took a seat and began rubbing two sticks together.

Lon'qu looked over to a nearby tree where Lyndis was sitting. As they set out from the town, Lon'qu expected her to be of some use to him, but she was not doing a very good job of proving herself. She merely sat there and watched the grass grow. Lon'qu narrowed his eyes when he saw here lips moving. She was mumbling something to herself, but he was unable to hear any of it. Of course, the last thing he ever wanted to know was what dark thoughts were racing through that broken mind of hers.

He huffed and shook his head in disappointment. " _Lunatic_ ," Lon'qu mocked.

"Hey, you," Lon'qu spoke out. Lyndis perked up as soon as she heard his voice. "I allowed you to follow me, the least you can do is make yourself useful and help me spark a flame."

"How many times do I have to tell you," Lyn asked with a teasing glare. "My name is Lyn!" She then looked down to the pile of logs at his feet and rolled her eyes dismissively. "Why do you want to build a fire, anyway? That isn't exactly the smartest idea. I'm not sure if you've noticed but this is a tropical climate so don't expect to be freezing to death at night. It's not like we need a light source with all of these glowing plants around so what are you planning to do with it?"

"I plan to let the fire burn. What of it?"

Lyndis sighed and rested her palm against her face. "Now I realize how little you know about survival out here. Here's a tip. What might have been a good idea where we come from may be your last move in these woods. A fire would be a life saver in this scenario back home, but here? All you'll do is attract the Lost Ones or even worse, a Druid."

"The Lost Ones? You mentioned them earlier. They were the ones I saw entering the town, right? Who are they?"

"They are the people who currently reign supreme in the forest," Lyn informed. "The Lost Ones are the top of the food chain. They mostly remain active on the northern side of the river that runs through this local region but they do technically own the entirety of the forest. Their weapons, numbers, and abilities far surpass anything we could ever muster so unless you genuinely want to kill yourself, I would not recommend picking a fight with them under any circumstances."

" _So_ … fires are not a good plan."

Lyn smiled and gave him a confirming thumbs-up. Lon'qu instantly plopped down in front of the pile of wood. Ironically, it was very difficult to come across this even though he was in such a vast forest. Most of the trees were far too tall to climb. Finding them on the ground was another difficult task as it seemed to be a very rare occurrence for a branch to fall from the canopy. Now, his efforts were completely in vain.

In disdain, Lon'qu kicked the pile of wood and several sticks went flying. Lyn ducked right before one of those sticks flew in her direction. It collided with the tree trunk and fell on top of her. Lyn removed the stick from her hair and threw it in Lon'qu's direction.

"Way to show those sticks who's boss, Lon!"

"That is not my name," Lon'qu argued. "It's _Lon'qu_. Why must you even bother shortening it? My name isn't that complicated."

She laughed at his obvious frustration. "Because I like Lon better so that's your new name!"

Lon'qu huffed and walked away. Lyndis waved him down, but he did not respond.

"Aw, don't be mad! Lon's a really cool name, you know!?"

* * *

Tharja sat at Robin's desk, flipping through old papers. As time went on, her expression grew more flustered. She looked through even more of these pages which only proved to make her even more frustrated with this little project.

She had rightly assumed this would be a challenge despite how straightforward their goal sounded. She, Rhajat, and Robin were all on the hunt for a means of completely erasing objects and segments of physical space from existence. Robin insisted they put these old papers to use and hopefully create a foundation for future experimentation.

Most of the essays Tharja had read over so far deal with discussing the concept of a dying star and the fallout of such an event. Oddly enough, a vast majority of the contents of these pages revolved around this concept being related to time manipulation. While she found it interesting, Tharja had no use for this theory.

Infuriated by this nonsensical research, Tharja flung the packet of papers over her shoulder and ran her fingers through her hair. Robin and Rhajat were working together to decipher a separate stack of essays across the room, unaware of how frustrated the Dark Mage was becoming. They both looked up at the sound of papers crashing against the wall and falling to the floor.

They glanced at each other in concern. Rhajat promptly went back to reading while Robin stood up and headed over to the fallen pages. As he picked them up off the floor and dusted them off, he glared at Tharja for her outburst.

"Why don't you just take a break," asked Robin. "Sitting there and getting frustrated is not going to make this any easier."

"I suppose a little fresh air would help," Tharja agreed as she placed a hand on her forehead. She turned to him with a frustrated frown. "I will return shortly."

Tharja then left the room. Robin returned to his business after placing her papers back on the desk and retreated to the other side of the room.

"Question," Rhajat announced as soon as Robin had resumed his reading. "You said earlier to keep this research a secret from the other people in the mansion. Why is that? Can we not trust them?"

"Ghiaccio's orders," Robin confirmed. "So long as we continue to look into this, Ghiaccio does not want them to know. I for one completely agree with his decision and if you wish to remain here with us then you _will_ comply."

Rhajat calmly rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you say, Robin."

* * *

There were many small entrances to the manor which were always open. Narrow pipes ran through the floors and up into the walls. They served their purpose as hidden paths for Ghiaccio to not only enter and exit the manor on his own accord without having to worry about someone else opening the front door for him, but they also provided Ghiaccio with a means of spying on anyone regardless of their location.

Not a single room, closet, or hallway was safe from his keen observation. One path, in particular, acted as an access point to the mansion from the front lawn. It was positioned next to the left of the front entrance.

Ghiaccio made his way through this pipe and slithered into the dark and decrepit entrance hall. Upon arrival, he was immediately greeted by Tharja's sulking silhouette. She sat on the stairs located at the far side of the hall. Her head drooped downward. She failed to even notice the serpent as he approached her.

"Hey, creep! What's got you down in the metaphorical dumps," Ghiaccio inquired. He was not at all concerned, but with nothing better to do, he decided to visit with her for a short while.

"Deciphering this puzzle is taxing," Tharja murmured. "I had to step out for a bit. This eyestrain is killing me."

Ghiaccio snickered at her. This earned him an unpleasant glare. Ghiaccio stopped himself as soon as Tharja's wrathful eyes met his. The last thing he wanted was another case of paralysis so he refrained from provoking her any further.

" _Well_ ," he continued. "If it's a break you want then maybe you should engage in your favorite pastime? Stalking."

Nothing more needed to be said. Tharja immediately caught on to what Ghiaccio was getting at. "What do you want, snake?"

"Just some information, _woman_. Besides, you've got nothing better to do, right?"

Tharja groaned and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Who do you want me to keep tabs on and what should I look out for? Please tell me it's Robin."

"Nope. I don't care about whatever boring shit he's up too," Ghiaccio denied. "I need you to find out what our new roommates are doing. I'd do it myself but you're just so much better at the whole stalking thing than I am. Figure out what they're planning and report back to me. Oh, and don't let them see you."

"You don't have to tell me that," Tharja huffed pridefully. "I know what I'm doing."

"That's great to hear. Now, get going!"

* * *

In a dark hallway, Tharja waited and listened to the conversation in the next room over. She was already bored to death listening to the voices of the Shepherds echoing through the walls. She wondered why she had even bothered to agree with this 'mission' Ghiaccio had given her. It was not like she had the slightest concern for what Chrom and the others were doing.

"This is why I don't stalk anyone else," Tharja groaned. "Why must you people be so boring?"

At the sound of Virion speaking out, Tharja silenced her complaining and listened closely. Until now, she could not be certain that he was even in the room with everyone else but it was obvious to her now.

"If I may, sir," Virion politely asked.

"Go ahead," Chrom replied.

Tharja listened to Virion clear his throat before he added his own opinion to the conversation.

"Perhaps we should try to leave this mansion as soon as possible. Despite what our former tactician has said, it is clear that we are not welcome here. We could find ourselves in trouble if we stay here, especially with those monsters who contacted that snake. I personally would rather not get involved with whatever secret deeds are going on in this decaying mansion. The comrades we have regrouped with have a malevolent intent in their eyes. I would expect such intentions from someone like Tharja, but never Robin. I do not trust this situation in the slightest. The longer we choose to reside here, the more likely we are to fall victim to their schemes."

"While I do agree with you in part, Virion," Frederick interjected. "Is it right to simply leave them here?"

The voices quieted down for a moment. Each of the Shepherds slightly thought of their own solution on how to handle this divide in ideals.

When Chrom finally spoke out, Tharja pressed her ear against the door. She listened closely, expecting him to finally reveal some noteworthy plan. Something at all that she or Ghiaccio might be able to use against them.

"It is ultimately their decision if they wish to stay here," Chrom informed in a melancholic tone. "That being said, there is no way I would not do everything in my power to convince them otherwise. I could not live with myself if we left them behind."

" _Right_ ," Lissa confidently agreed. "We can't leave our friends alone out here, but how are we going to convince them?"

"We will have to confront him at a time when there is no one to influence his decision making," Chrom replied. "For now, I say we focus on finding a way back home. We will address this issue with our fellow Shepherds when the time comes. Agreed?"

While she knew there was much more to eavesdrop on, Tharja had grown tired of hearing their vague plans. The Dark Mage could be absolutely on one thing regardless of what she may have missed out on by leaving so early; she could not allow their plot to change Robin's mind to succeed. That much, she was prepared to fight tooth and nail over.

Tharja quietly slipped away into the shadows without a second thought. From the perspective of the Shepherds, she was never even there.

* * *

Tharja placed her hand against the rotting surface of the front door. She did not bother stopping by Robin's room. The Dark Mage headed straight for the exit, informing no one of her departure. She was on the verge of leaving, but she froze when she heard Robin's voice.

"Tharja? Where are you going?"

She turned back to face the stairwell. Robin was standing on the bottom step. He met her gaze with a lifeless and cold stare.

"I was going for a walk. Is that okay with you?"

Robin was caught off guard by her unexpected hostility. However, after recalling his past treatment of her, that response suddenly made a lot of sense.

"Mind if I accompany you," asked Robin.

"Of course you can. Quite a surprise to hear you ask, though."

"There's a place we can go," Robin informed. "It's a little far from here, but I think you'll find it intriguing."

Tharja opened the door and set foot outside. She took in the humidity and warm air. The humidity alone made the difference. Tharja had grown up in the deserts of Plegia where humidity was unheard of. It was infinitely more bearable for her than having to cope with the tropical climate of her new home.

A soft and gentle mist fell down upon her from the canopy. The mist provided a blissful release from the heat.

Robin stepped outside and closed the front door. He then walked past Tharja and headed off. "Follow me," he called out as he approached the tree line to the left of the mansion's entrance. "We'll need to go around and head south. It's still a fair distance away, but it's nothing compared to the pilgrimage required to reach the river up north."

"I'm fascinated to see what this place is," said Tharja, smiling at him with an impish grin. "You lead, I'll follow."

* * *

Lucina was able to patch up her shoulder by tearing off a portion of her cape. The bleeding was not incredibly intensive, but she wanted to minimize the chances of infection as much as humanly possible.

She was even more lost than before. Lucina made it her top priority to get far away from that baby-faced aberration and she did exactly that. However, she knew full well that the direction she chose to flee in only led her further off course.

This particular area of the forest looked like a dream world. Lucina stared at the bizarre trees surrounding her. These trees defied the very laws of gravity. Their roots were wrapped around enormous gemstones that floated a few feet above the forest floor. They glowed, not just the typical neon blue that Lucina had come to expect from the environment, but a plethora of colors all dancing and shifting around each other.

These crystallized prisms hovered stagnantly in the air. They never moved regardless of what happened around them. Lucina cautiously approached one of these floating trees. She reached out and touched the smooth surface of the crystal that kept the tree suspended in the air. Lucina attempted to push it but the thing did not budge.

She wondered if it was the weight of the tree keeping the crystal in place, but at the same time, that weight was clearly not enough to anchor the defiant stone to the ground. Puzzled by this enigma, Lucina rested her chin on her fist and stared at this bizarre stone.

" _Pretty crazy, isn't it_ ," a female's voice asked from behind.

Lucina nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of another person's voice. She twirled around in an instant and drew Falchion from its sheath all in one smooth motion.

Lucina's jaw dropped at the sight of the woman standing before her. With her smiling face and red hair that was done up in a familiar ponytail, there was no possible way Lucina could not recognize her the moment she laid eyes on this woman.

" _A-Anna!?_ "

The woman smiled bright and gestured for the floating crystal. "Welcome to my temporary storefront," the merchant greeted. "Are you interested in the newest addition to my inventory? I introduce to you… the uh… _Flying Rhombus!_ That'll be 40,000 gold. Since you're a friend of mine, I will give you a generous discount. Your total will be 39,999. I accept monthly payments of as little as 1,500 gold. So what are you waiting for!? Purchase the Flying… uh… _Cube_ today and be the first to own one of nature's greatest anomalies! Don't let gravity get you down! Purchase now!"

After that long-winded sales pitch, Anna held out her hand and waited for her payment. Anna's once proud smile faded when she realized that no coin was being handed to her.

Lucina was stunned. She almost assumed that she had mistaken this woman for someone she knew prior to entering the forest, but now it was confirmed.

"Anna, it really is you! How did you get out here? Do you have any idea what's going on or what this place is?"

Anna placed her index finger over her lips in contemplation. She cracked an odd grin and laughed greedily. "The only thing I know is that this place is filled with awesome stuff that can be sold for insane profits. You have to help me bring some of this back to Ylisse! If you do, we'll split the profit right down the middle!"

Out of all the people Lucina could have run into out here, it just had to be her. The princess exhaled heavily. Lucina considered herself lucky to have finally come across someone who was not _completely_ insane or have a strong desire to murder her, but she still groaned at the thought of having to communicate with Anna.

At the very least it was better than being alone in this alien world.

* * *

Lucina spent the better part of a few hours explaining everything that had been going on in the forest. She decided to leave out the details of a certain talking snake. It was already difficult enough to explain how one of Chrom's most respected soldiers was being corrupted by an inhabitant of the forest. Explaining the fact that this manipulator was actually a highly intelligent rattlesnake was just a little too complicated.

The princess posed a few questions to Anna. To her surprise, the trickster knew much more than she had anticipated. In the time they had spent talking, Lucina learned exactly where she was in relation to the river. That knowledge alone gave her hope.

"So, you claim the river to be up that way," Lucina inquired once more for the sake of clarity. She then pointed over her shoulder and Anna nodded her head.

"How do you know this?"

"There are a large number of darkly dressed soldiers with long ears coming through here," Anna replied. "They mostly concentrate on the other side of the river. I've followed them several times, but never tried to interact with them. I would have loved to have done business with them, but they seemed a little on the hostile side. Either way, I tend to stick to this part of the woods so I know the area pretty well."

This information came as a bit of a shock to Lucina. She found herself wondering just how long Anna had been out here. Despite her curiosity, she knew there was no time to continue sitting around near all of these gravity defying trees. The longer she spent doing nothing, the more time her enemy had to corrupt her former comrades.

"Why don't we continue this discussion on the way to the river? We need to regroup with the other Shepherds. Right now, it appears that we are all scattered in unfamiliar territory. We must move quickly if we are to find the others."

Anna smiled with her usual cheerfulness. Needless to say, this was not the response Lucina was expecting. Anna did not follow her, nor did the look on her face indicate that she was planning on doing so.

"I think I'm going to stay behind," Anna admitted.

Her reply left Lucina dumbfounded. She had finally located one of her old friends who would hopefully back her up on the coming journey. With her hopes completely shot down, Lucina was left standing there, staring at Anna in bewilderment.

It was impossible to read the expression on Lucina's face given the mask that covered her eyes, but Anna knew that further elaboration was required.

"Sorry, but I won't be joining," she explained with an unfortunate smile. Her whimsical tone contradicted the serious frown on Lucina's face and succeeded only in creating a more awkward conversation.

"I don't believe it," Lucina murmured in a frail tone. "Why do you refuse to join me!? What could possibly be your motive to stay behind."

The carefree smile that Anna had become known for among her fellow Shepherd suddenly shifted into a hellish grin. Her once glimmering crimson eyes darkened with malevolent intent.

This change in demeanor did not go unnoticed. Lucina took a few cautious steps away from Anna. The only time she ever remembered seeing that look was whenever Anna had cornered a bandit attempting to make off with her merchandise.

Lucina could have sworn she saw Anna caress the sword strapped to her hip with the tips of her fingers. The look on Anna's face made Lucina shutter. She felt as if she were about to be murdered in cold blood right then and there.

Suddenly, Anna's mood took a ninety-degree turn. The merchant laughed out loud. She lunged at Lucina and embraced her. The hug knocked the breath right out of Lucina's lungs. As she gasped for air, Anna's embrace was unrelenting.

" _Gotcha_ ," Anna exclaimed gleefully. She practically shouted into Lucina's ear. Anna promptly released her. She continued to laugh while Lucina did her best to catch her breath.

"You should have seen the look on your face! Anyway, let's get going! This place is dull. I'll come back for the floating rocks later. Say… how much do you think a good starting price for them would be?"

Anna walked off as she rambled away. Lucina watched her head in the direction of the river with her jaw dropped halfway to the ground.

For a split second, Lucina was more frightened of her than she was of the monster she encountered earlier. She could still see those vicious red eyes burning holes into her skull and that borderline sadistic smile. Now, the situation had completely changed. Anna acted as if no of it had ever happened. That alone sent shivers down Lucina's spine.

Eventually, Lucina forced that memory out of her head. At the moment, her top priority was to reach the river and regain her sense of direction. Anna's odd behavior would not stop her from reaching her goal, or at least, she genuinely hoped it would not stop her.


	12. Treehouse

**Treehouse**

After a couple hours of walking through the woods south of the mansion, and Tharja finally spotted the bizarre landmark Robin wanted her to see. Tharja at least assumed what she was seeing was their destination. It was difficult to think otherwise.

The land before her was filled with ruined metal behemoths. They were covered in broken and rusted armor. Iron treads were covered in overgrowth. Tharja approached one of these decaying hunks of metal and rested her hand against its rusted surface.

"What is this?"

Robin approached the relic and pointed to the massive barrel pointed straight at them. "Ghiaccio calls these things _tanks_. Apparently, this tank is a type of mobilized canon that is able to decimate enemy lines while their armor provides incredible protection. Ghiaccio looked at me as if I were crazy when I asked them how horses could move such a huge thing. Apparently, things like chariots and cavalry aren't as common here as they were back home."

There were a plethora of abandoned tanks and other bizarre relics scattered throughout this neck of the woods. Among these ruins were hundreds of old skeletons left exposed to the elements. Each of them was dressed in eroded uniforms. Tharja approached one of these corpses and knelt down. The red coloring of their uniforms was fading after years of neglect. Not a trace of armor plating could be found on these skeletons.

Tharja looked at the matching uniforms these skeletons wore. Tall leather boots, red pants, and matching long coats that reached down to their ankles. Metal masks covered the faces of most of these skeletons. They all looked unique but their overarching theme was the same. Most of them had horrifyingly exaggerated features, fangs, and psychotic smiles.

"Apparently, these are the remains of a huge force of human soldiers that died over a decade ago," Robin elaborated. "They were soldiers of the now fallen 'Crimson Commune.' Ghiaccio says they had multiple names but that was the most common of them all."

"I assume these were all humans who opposed Ghiaccio's friends across the river," asked Tharja.

"Yes. He stated that this battle was just another enormous blow to the humans native to these woods. These tanks were all a part of what he calls an armored division. They stationed this division here in a last-ditch effort to weaken the advancing Lost Ones and push them back to the river. The plan failed miserably and they were all slaughtered. No prisoners were taken and anyone who was stupid enough to surrender was tortured here over the course of three weeks. When there was no fun left to be had here, the Lost Ones moved on and continued to snuff out any stragglers. After this battle, the war was declared over."

Tharja stood up and stared down at the fallen soldiers. Insects and plants had made intricate homes out of their bones. Even after all this time, she could easily make out distinct indications of torture on most of these corpses.

"I suppose we should be thankful that we have connections to the winning side," Tharja nonchalantly proclaimed. "Now, I'm curious, though. You keep talking about these _Lost Ones_. Why do they not have a more creative name?"

"That is something you will have to ask Ghiaccio when we get back. I personally have no idea."

As much as Tharja enjoyed the time she spent with Robin, she already found herself a little bored of the scenery. "Is this all you have to show me? A few thousand skeletons? I assumed you had something a little more interesting."

Robin said nothing. He quietly pointed towards the canopy. Tharja had no idea what he was trying to show her. Knowing there was only one way to find out, she sighed and looked up. Her eyes widened at what she found.

A massive network of abandoned complexes was attached to the top of these towering trees. Just beneath the canopy was an entire city of treehouses. They were all connected by wooden bridges and walkways. Some of these buildings and paths were rotten or brought to ruin whereas other sections of this skyward city were left completely intact.

"What is this place," asked Tharja.

She had some much trouble merely asking that question while she stared up at these impressive structures. So many more questions danced in her head. Did they have to do with this battle? Was this some sort of fortress or does it have no involvement at all?

"Follow me and I'll show you," replied Robin.

"Do you mean there is a way to venture up there?"

Robin nodded and gestured for her to follow. Tharja did so without question.

* * *

The climb was insanely nerve-racking. Tharja found herself clinging tightly to the ladder that led to the village in the sky. She never even considered having a fear of heights until she had experienced this. Robin had already set foot on the wooden platform overhead. As always, she was not far behind him, but that only meant she was one slip away from splattering on the ground.

She was easily a few hundred feet in the air. That combined with the fact that this ladder was nothing more than a series of rotting planks of wood supported by two decaying ropes that constantly swayed back and forth equated to Tharja having a truly terrible time.

Her slow and steady climb would pay off when she reached the top. Tharja stepped out onto the large platform that was surrounded by elaborate and decorative wooden structures. Stained glass windows lined the walls of the majority of buildings around her.

There was an odd sensation to be felt here. This place was totally empty but Tharja could still feel an odd presence about the place. She had never been so close to the canopy before. Even with it right above her, she could not find a single hole between the leaves that revealed the sky. It truly was impenetrable.

"Ghiaccio said that this place was once a massive compound dedicated to the sacrifice of children to the deities people worshiped here in the forest long ago," Robin informed. His voice echoed, repeatedly breaking the barrier of silence over and over again.

"Oddly enough," Robin flatly continued. "This was at one point a so-called 'Pleasure Cult.' These areas can be found regardless of what side of the river you choose to search. I always found this shocking. In more ways than one, obviously, but the biggest oddity I've noticed is how differently religion works here as opposed to our world. Holy places back home are normally sanctuaries of abstinence, but here, churches and cathedrals are dedicated to gratifying just about anyone's sexual whims. As Ghiaccio said, 'whether it be a horse or a corpse, you could always find it in a church.' This forest can be truly disturbing at times. Don't you agree?"

"Any particular reason you wanted to bring me all the way out here," asked Tharja.

Robin was caught off guard by her bluntness despite this being one of her most obvious traits. He could have sworn she would be enthralled with this place from the moment she heard of its history. He always assumed her thirst for knowledge on the demented and the twisted could never be quenched.

"I just assumed you would be interested in this place."

Tharja giggled at the tactician. "I suppose it's the thought that counts. Do we have time to stay and explore?"

"Of course we do. I have something to ask you about, anyway. I would prefer to discuss it in a more private location, and this place fits that description pretty well."

Tharja started walking off while he spoke. As soon as her brain processed those last couple of sentences, she immediately stopped and twirled around. Her dark cloak fluttered as she span herself around to face him.

" _Ah-ha_ ," she interrupted with an ever so smug grin. "And so the real purpose of this voyage has been revealed."

Robin reached into his pocket and took out a small glimmering ring. In the darkness, it was hard for Tharja to make out what exactly he was holding, but when she saw the circular shape and gold color, she smiled deviously.

The Dark Mage averted her eyes as if to hide something. "Is that an engagement ring," she inquired teasingly. "Disappointing. There isn't a single diamond on it."

"That's not what this is," Robin snapped. "Judging by the expression on your face, I can tell there is some connection between it and you. Every time I look at it I can see fuzzy memories of you. Memories I cannot fully make out. Tell me, why do I have this thing? It's been irritating me ever since I woke up alone in these dark woods. The only reason I haven't thrown it away like a useless piece of junk is because not knowing where it came from would only bother me even more. So tell me. What is it!?"

Tharja was dead quiet for a long time. That grin never disappeared despite Robin's change in mood. She had look on her face that indicated she was victorious in some abstract conflict that Robin was not even aware of.

After staring him down for ten silent minutes. She did not move a muscle during that time. Tharja finally moved after growing bored with the current development. She lowered her head, hiding her eyes behind her dark bangs.

At the last second, Robin saw her crack another cocky smile before she made her reply.

"That makes sense," she calmly announced. Her monotone voice carried in the silence of this tree-bound village. "Your memories of that ring are not totally lost as I had initially assumed. How interesting. In due time, you could very well remember where it came from."

"That doesn't tell me anything, Tharja!"

"You're right, it doesn't tell you much of anything," Tharja promptly agreed with a dismissive shrug of her shoulders. "Since you refuse to figure it out yourself, allow me to answer your question with one of my own. Would you laugh in my face if I told you that we are married?"

Robin did not answer. He remained frozen in place. His blood ran cold at the obvious implications of her response.

"That was the ring I gave you during our ceremony back in Ylisse," Tharja continued. "In other words, we are married. For two years in fact. We have two daughters… or would eventually have. The whole time travel bit is a little confusing so let's just ignore that for now. Point is, now you know."

With that blunt and incredibly abrupt speech over, Tharja slowly lifted up her left hand, revealing a shining ring on her hand with a series of black diamonds that did more to blend in with her attire than they did to stand out.

"Really, how do you manage to forget something so important," Tharja questioned with a chuckle. "Or perhaps I am applying the wrong logic here. Maybe it was never that important to you to begin with, hence why it was so easy for you to forget."

* * *

Silence filled the labyrinth in the trees. Every creek and moan from the decaying walls produced a haunting echo. Piles of bones littered the interiors of every building. Skulls were impaled on pikes and nailed to the walls.

Most of the compound was shrouded darkness as there were not many plants that shined near the canopy as there were on the surface. Hordes of termites made expansive empires in these old buildings. Generations of these pests lived in huge intertwined communities that all rallied to consume the leftovers of a forgotten empire.

Among all of this, Robin slowly skulked up and down the winding wooden bridges that connected the different buildings in this compound of sacrifice and perversion. As he went, Robin spotted entire rooms dedicated to what he could only assume to be the wildest of sexual fantasies. Rusted shackles hung from the walls. Phallic objects attached to massive razor blades laid out on nearby desks for all to see.

Ghostly cries of both pleasure and agony escaped from the moldy walls and flooded Robin's ears. Ironically, he found it easier to ignore the screams of the damned than to block out what Tharja had told him earlier.

He eventually stopped exploring and stood still in the darkness. Tharja titled her head curiously at this abrupt act. Robin had his back turned to her which meant that she could only guess what kind of expression he wore.

Robin suddenly began snickering. That light giggle evolved into a laugh. It turned a little more maniacal the longer he stood there laughing.

His laughter brought new life to the emptiness of his environment. Despite this abrupt burst of energy, everything around Robin was just as empty as it was before he entered the room. In that moment, he felt as if he were the only person in the world laughing.

A haunting wind gently blew in from a shattered window on a nearby wall. Dust calmly settled on any surface it could land on and old artifacts remained unmoved. Robin laughed while nothing else around him made so much as a peep.

"I suppose that answers my question," Tharja finally remarked.

Robin calmed himself and turned to face Tharja with newfound confidence. "You think I'll just believe that? If you want to fool me, Tharja, you're going to have to try a little harder than that."

"No, I do not expect you to believe me," Tharja admitted without a trace of emotion in her voice. "You asked a question and I answered truthfully."

"And yet you never mentioned it to me until now."

"What was the point," asked Tharja. "Besides, I will admit that I found myself curious as to how long it would take before you finally figured it out for yourself. Lo and behold, that never happened. So, I will say it once again. You asked me to marry you two years ago and I agreed. That is the origin of both rings. Of course, it isn't like you would believe me no matter how many times I say it or how much evidence I may have."

Robin's confident smile faded into a wrathful frown as she spoke. He pointed to her accusingly and shouted in response. "As if I'd fall for that!? Is it a little convenient that you would wait until now to say something!? That alone proves you are lying through your teeth! You have obviously been working against us this whole time! This is just another red herring to halt our progress!"

Tharja laughed at him in the same way he had done to her a few seconds ago. "Were you dropped on your head when you were little or something? If I wanted to 'hinder your progress' then all I would have to do is have a little chat with Chrom. I seem to recall something about his daughter going blind thanks to a certain talking snake. On top of that, she was left to die by your accord. That seems infinitely more incriminating than lying about your marital status. Besides, what would be my motive for turning on you anyway? Clearly, being alone with that snake for so long has made you paranoid."

"You hexed me," Robin accused. "Why else would I have agreed to such a thing!?"

"True, I may have used the odd hex here or there to ensure you would be in a certain place at a certain time or less aware of your surroundings so that I could follow without worry of being discovered," Tharja flatly admitted. "However, while I could have very easily employed a plethora of emotion affecting hexes, I chose against doing so. I prided myself in achieving what I desired most without resorting to such underhanded tactics."

With a hollow glare, Robin stared her down, trying to find some hint of dishonesty in her expression or body language. As usual, this woman was completely unreadable. She gave him a condescending grin, but that was all.

"Whatever. That's what I get for asking you for anything."

"Aw, don't say that _dear_ ," Tharja teased. "You're breaking my heart."

* * *

The Shepherds were all gathered in the entrance hall of the manor. Rhajat stood in front of the door, looking onto the crowd with a bleak expression. Ghiaccio was wrapped around her shoulders. That lasted for all of five seconds when the snake suddenly started complaining about how she was handling him.

"All right, put me down," Ghiaccio demanded. Having no qualms about this request, Rhajat picked Ghiaccio off and promptly dropped him to the floor.

The rattlesnake shot a cold glare at her in response. "Ugh, I hate being handled by a woman. Your shoulders aren't broad enough. I feel like I could fall off at any second. It drives me up the freaking wall!"

"Stop complaining and get on with it," Rhajat replied. "I have better things to do than stand here listening to you babble about useless nonsense all day."

"You tell him, Tharja," Lissa cheered in the background.

Rhajat narrowed her eyes at the girl before her, causing Lissa to tremble upon meeting Rhajat's murderous gaze. "How many times do I have to tell you. I am not Tharja. Stop getting us confused. We look nothing alike."

The Shepherds and even Ghiaccio all simultaneously spoke out against her incredibly inaccurate statement.

" _Yes, you do!_ "

Rhajat balled her hands into fists and furiously bit her lip. She debated on lashing out with a barrage of hexes that would surely bring torment to everyone around her, but she refrained from that incredibly strong urge.

Now that Tharja's doppelganger had been quieted down, Ghiaccio turned to face the Shepherds and smiled at all of them in a devious manner.

"Okay, back on topic. First off, let me preface this by saying how great it's been to have such a lively group of friends running around on our property. When it was just us, the mansion felt so empty. In the short time, we've known each other, I feel as though we've created such strong bonds."

Chrom glinted to Virion who stood to his right. The archer was just as confused by this statement as he was.

"We have," asked Chrom. "Since we met, I think I can count the number of conversations we've had on one hand and still have four fingers left over. Not enough time to create unbreakable bonds, but please continue."

Ghiaccio hissed at his observation but did not argue the point. "Look, it's great that you guys are here and all, but this ain't a free bed and breakfast for knights in need. If you want to stay here, the least you can do is help us out around here."

"That sounds fair enough," Chrom agreed. "What do you need us to do."

The serpent pointed to the front door with his tail, indicating exactly where this task of his would take place. "All right, listen closely because I'm only gonna tell this story once. There's been a low-life thief looking through our stuff recently. The little shit comes out from the woods and digs through all the garbage we've yet to burn like a damn coyote. I've seen the bastard a couple of times moving around in the shadows. He hasn't taken anything of value, but that isn't going to stop me from murdering his sorry ass. We hatched a plan to scare the guy off. We chopped off the head of a corpse we found near the mansion and set it up in the back, but then this weirdo comes along and steals it."

Ghiaccio looked right at Henry as he said this. The smiling Dark Mage held that very same head in his arms. He lifted the thing up in the air for all to see.

"I didn't steal it," Henry corrected with a twisted laugh. "Besides, you know what they say, right? Two heads are better than one? _Get it!?_ "

"Yeah, we get it, jackass," Ghiaccio snarled. The snake took control over his growing frustration and decided to ignore Henry's antics for the time being.

"Anyway, here's where you clowns come into the mix. Bottom line is, I don't like the idea of being on the same planet as some scumbag thief. He comes through here, trespassing on my property and that pisses me off. I want this subhuman piece of garbage dealt with. Go out there and track his ass down."

Ghiaccio took a moment to study the facial expressions of the Shepherds. None of them seemed deterred by his request. He expected as much from a group that constantly toted swords and axes around all day.

With no one giving any objections to Ghiaccio's wishes, the serpent promptly concluded his speech.

"His severed head will cover this month's rent."


	13. Firebug

**Firebug**

The road to the river was far crueler than Lucina had predicted, but she had finally made it. A wave of relief washed over her. It was only one step in the right direction, but that was more than enough to give her a sense of accomplishment. The water was clear and calm. The exact contrast to what Lucina had been forced to deal with up until this point.

That feeling of relief quickly disappeared when Lucina spotted someone on the other side of the river. Their back was turned to her, but judging by the uniform, she knew it was one of the soldiers that often patrolled the river.

Lucina turned around to face Anna and quietly nudged her. Anna's eyes immediately darted toward her. She smiled a rather devious looking smile and spoke softly.

"Somebody's over there," she announced in a whisper. "Perhaps that man might be interested in what I have to sell."

"Do not attract his attention," Lucina demanded, but it was no use.

" _Hey_ ," Anna shouted at the top of her lungs. " _Over here!_ "

Lucina returned her gaze to the man across the water. She locked eyes with him and immediately went for her sword. Even with such a notable distance and obstacle between them, Lucina was not willing to run the risk of being caught off guard.

She could not see his face as he was wearing a cloth mask that covered just about everything aside from his eyes. He had the same black helmet and matching uniform that these long-eared soldiers always wore.

Enraged by Anna's actions, Lucina craned her neck, sending her wrathful gaze towards Anna. To Lucina's surprise, the trickster was long gone. Lucina's eyes darted all over the place, but she could not find the redhead anywhere. Anna had left her behind as soon as she had drawn the attention of that elven soldier.

Lucina knew that was intentional. Anna had been acting suspiciously ever since they met. She had no reason to give away their position, but she did it anyway.

Despite all of the thoughts racing through her mind, Lucina turned back to the soldier across the river. He was pointing a large metal object in her direction. Most of the equipment these troops toted through the forest were completely bizarre. She had no idea what sort of application they carried and this one was no different. It did not appear to be a weapon, but Lucina could not be entirely sure of that.

The device appeared to be nothing more than a pipe to Lucina. It had a small metal barrel strapped to the bottom of it. Attached to this barrel was a smaller pipe that extended outward and pointed up toward the larger pipe above it. Lucina could see a small flame coming out of the top of the smaller pipe. Lucina spotted three separate containers strapped to the soldier's back which appeared to be attached to the device in his hands.

"Listen to me," Lucina called out before any sort of fight could break out between these two. "I have no intention of crossing your river, and I'm sure you do not want to wade all the way across the water to fight me. We can go our separate ways and act as if we never saw each other. Does that sound like a fair deal?"

As much as she prayed the elf would find her compromise agreeable, he attacked her regardless. He did not bother charging across the water as Lucina had assumed. If that were the case, she could easily run in the opposite direction and avoid confrontation, but unfortunately, this would not be happening.

The flame at the end of the soldier's weapon exploded outward. Flames sprayed across the river and headed straight for her. Lucina instinctively dodged this torrent of fire, but not without taking some damage. Fire splashed against the ground like water and some of it managed to get onto her left forearm. As Lucina hit the ground and rolled out of the way, she was able to put out the flame on her arm.

She could already feel the intense pain of third-degree burns, but she did not stop. Lucina retreated behind the nearest tree and took cover as the soldier launched more fire in her direction.

With her back against the tree, Lucina waited to see if the elf would shoot at the tree, but it appeared to be just out of range of the flames. The crackling of the flames around her made it impossible to determine if he was advancing on her or not, but Lucina did not move from her spot.

Lucina took this time to catch her breath. Her arm was in unbelievable pain. Even moving it slightly caused her to gasp in agony. The burn stretched from a few inches above her wrist and ended just above her elbow. She hovered a hand over the wound to feel the heat exuding from her left arm.

While she wanted to stay and wait for the pain to subside, Lucina knew the soldier was probably advancing on her. She had no idea what to do. She began debating options in her head.

" _I could make a break for it_ ," she thought. " _What if the flames reach me as I leave cover, though? What then? There are no other means of cover here. The nearest tree is too far away. He would spot me long before I reach it._ "

The sound of someone rushing her position, crushing twigs and leaves suddenly filled Lucina's ears despite the crackling fire that was spreading along the riverbank. She knew it could not have possibly been the soldier across the river. Lucina could not think of one feasible scenario in which he could have possibly reached her in a matter of seconds. Someone else was advancing on her and Lucina had no idea who.

Unfortunately for Lucina, she would not be given time to think on the matter. She felt an extremely sharp pain in the right side of her head and everything went black.

* * *

The mansion's grounds were virtually lifeless with everyone off doing their own thing. The only two still remaining on the property where Ghiaccio and Rhajat. Despite his complaints about how uncomfortable it was to ride on Rhajat's shoulders, he still allowed her to act as his legs while they made their way across the front lawn.

Rhajat dragged that same headless corpse that always seemed to find it sway back to Ghiaccio's manor. It was extremely heavy. On his way out, Henry even stopped to crack a soulless pun about the corpse being 'dead weight.'

Suddenly, Rhajat dropped the corpse and stood upright to catch her breath. Her arms were already burning from having to drag this thing across the mansion grounds. Regardless of her progress, Ghiaccio was not happy about her taking a break without permission.

The serpent lowered his head and whispered in her ear. " _Why did you stop?_ "

"Because I'm tired," Rhajat coldly snapped. "Be grateful that I agreed to lug this thing around in the first place. I didn't _have_ to do this, you know?"

"You know what they say," Ghiaccio teased. "When the going gets tough, the tough get their asses in gear and drag that corpse off my fucking lawn! So why the hell aren't you doing it!?"

Just like that, Rhajat was thoroughly fed up with the snake's behavior. She pulled Ghiaccio off of her shoulders and dropped him onto the corpse and glared down at him with a sour expression.

"Okay, I'll just go back inside, now."

Rhajat started off for the mansion's entrance. Ghiaccio immediately panicked and decided to take a "Hey, wait a minute," he exclaimed. Rhajat stopped and glinted over her shoulder with an impish little grin on her face.

She crossed her arms in anticipation for an apology. The snake was reluctant to give said apology and decided to word his way around it. "I was just teasing, Thar… uh, I mean, _Rhajat_. Please help me move this body. Come on! Show a lowly reptile like myself how awesome it is to be a mammal with opposable thumbs and superior upper body strength. You guys ain't the top of the food chain for nothing, right?"

Rhajat placed an inquisitive finger under her chin and smiled lightly at his praise. "I seem to recall you claiming that you alone were at the top of the food chain. Surely, a mere human like myself would be of no use to the king of the forest."

Rhajat then curtsied before Ghiaccio while grinning sarcastically.

In frustration, Ghiaccio hissed at her and pointed his rattle at the corpse. "Look, if we don't get this thing out of here soon, it's gonna start spreading disease. I told Tharja to get rid of it, but then that Druid dragged the thing right back to us like a damn cat. Hell, maybe Tharja didn't even do as I instructed. Either way, if you do this, then I'll… pay you somehow."

"How do you plan on paying me?"

"I don't know. What do you want?"

Suddenly, this task felt a lot more tempting. Rhajat's smile grew as she thought of different ways Ghiaccio could return the favor.

"All right," she agreed with a nod of her head. "I'll think about it while we dispose of this body."

Ghiaccio was hesitant but decided to go along with the deal. "Fine. Just don't ask for any weird or impossible shit in return."

Rhajat devilishly giggled at the snake's request. "I would never," she reassured but the look on her face said otherwise.

Ghiaccio knew he would probably regret making this deal in the very near future, but his own impatience to rid his property of this decaying corpse would not allow him to back down now.

* * *

Frederick and Virion separated from the main group to scout out a particular trail leading further away from the manor. While Frederick's eyes were glued to the occasional footprint and disturbed foliage on the ground, Virion was paying attention to anything but the task at hand.

When the archer stopped in his tracks for no apparent reason, Frederick turned around to see what was going on. He eventually managed to spot a large centipede clinging to the tree in front of Virion. Its body was solid black while its plethora of tiny legs radiated with a neon turquoise light. If it were any other environment, Frederick would wonder how a glowing insect such as this could have possibly survived against predators, but in these woods, it made total sense.

"Such a bizarre forest," Virion mumbled in awe. "The plants and animals provide light where none would otherwise exist. Their radiance illuminates the very path we walk. I wonder if this blue glow is an alternative to sunlight. Something both plants and animals alike may bask in."

"Perhaps that theory is not so far-fetched, Virion. I have yet to see a single ray of sunlight since we've been here and yet, there is so much flora to be found here, and yet, this little centipede is the first living creature I've seen here. Sure, Henry and Vaike have been able to score kills for food, but where are they all hiding?"

Before Virion could answer that question, a stressed feminine voice called out to them from behind. Both of them jumped at the sound of this disturbance and simultaneously turned around. Lissa stood before them, panting heavily while she placed her dominant hand against a nearby tree to support her stance.

"Guys," she exclaimed. "We found the guy Ghiaccio was looking for. Come give us a hand."

The duo exchanged astonished glances but did not ask any questions, not that they were given a chance. They hurried after Lissa after she had run off without saying another word.

* * *

Lissa led her two comrades back to the location where the other Shepherds had a lone man surrounded. The trio arrived to find said suspect kneeling before Chrom with his hands in the air. Frederick immediately noticed how frustrated Chrom was becoming. Cherche and Gregor looked on with concern while Henry smiled away as if all were well. Just listening to Chrom's inquiries clearly demonstrated how dishonest of a facade Henry wore.

"How do you know that name," Chrom inquired in a demanding voice that Frederick did hear too often.

The culprit quaked under Chrom's tone. Despite his fear, he managed to formulate a coherent response. "She wanted me to watch the house just a little ways north of here. I was asked to get really close to the property, and she promised to pay for my efforts. I learned a lot about the creeps who live in that dark place during those late night scouting missions. Anyway, she disappeared days ago. I think she went after that man in the hood who lives there. I swear to you that is all I know!"

Chrom leaned forward and planted his hands on the man's shoulders. He squeezed them tightly as if trying to force the answer out of him. His intent gaze only caused the man to spiral into a deeper state of panic.

"You aren't making any sense," Chrom retorted. "There is no reason for her to do any of that. Why did she need you? How did you even cross paths with her?"

"That's what happened," the man argued, practically pleading for Chrom to understand. "What motive would I have to lie!?"

"And you're sure she said her name was Lucina?"

Virion and Frederick gasped when they heard that name. Neither of them said a word. They were far too taken aback by the situation as a whole and left Chrom to deal with it.

"Yes. Lucina was her name. She had blue hair and a really fancy outfit. She looked a lot like you now that I'm getting a better look at your face."

"Of course, she does, she's my daughter," Chrom snapped. "Just tell me what happened to her. Where can I find her?"

The suspect was hesitant in answering, but now this man's desperation made sense to him. "You're daughter," he asked, stumbling over his own words.

Chrom nodded to confirm this to be true.

Still shaking from this encounter the man finally decided to answer the question. "Look, I don't know what happened to her. As soon as that freak in the cloak mounted ahead in his backyard, the message was clear to me. I told her that I wanted no part in this. It's hard enough to survive out here as it is. The last thing I want to do is get on the bad side of someone who has connections to the Lost Ones. She was willing to let me off the hook, thankfully. While she never told me where she was headed, I know for a fact that she went to the river. That's where the silver-haired guy and the talking snake were going. They wanted to get into contact with the elven forces across the river. She _had_ to have followed them! There's no other place she could have gone!"

" _Why_ ," Chrom huskily inquired. "Why would she do all of this? Understand something, that _freak_ you keep referring to is one of my closest friends and hers too. He and Lucina fought side by side on many different battlefields and now she has a reason to hide from him? It makes no sense! What are you not telling me!?"

The man tried to speak up, to explain in further detail what he was referring to, but something cut him off. He felt as though some abrupt and unknown force was eating away at him from the inside out.

He doubled over in pain and cried out in agony. Chrom stepped away from him, having no idea what was going on. Suddenly, a small white worm fell out of his nose. Chrom was the first to catch a glimpse of this worm as it fell to the ground. He gasped at the sight of this live maggot now squirming around in the dirt at his feet.

More of these maggots began spilling out of his nose and mouth. Unfortunately for the stranger, the worms found more creative means of leaving his body. They chewed and ripped their way through his throat with their powerful mandibles. The worms fell out of his ears and ate their way through his eyes.

All he could do was scream as these maggots spawned in his body and chewed their way out only to fall to the ground and squirm their way back to him in order to continue with their meal. All Chrom and his fellow Shepherds could do was watch this horrific sight without the slightest clue of how to help this individual.

"What is this," Chrom cried out with a mortified expression. " _What the hell is this!?_ "

* * *

Lucina woke up to a throbbing headache. This pain was not at all comparable to being burned and having venom spit in her eyes, but it was enough to make her feel nauseated. Her mask was still strapped to her face. Whoever had knocked her out clearly had no interest in seeing her face.

What remained of her vision focused on her lap. She was in a soft and comfortable seat that contradicted her uncomfortable position. Lucina tried to move her hands, but they were tied together around her back. Her feet were still free of any constraints which gave her some relief.

The masked woman had no idea where she was or what was going on. She could feel her entire body bouncing up and down along with whatever she was sitting on. She guessed that she was in some sort of wagon, but she was proven wrong when she finally worked up the courage to examine her surroundings.

The first thing to catch her eye was a darkly dressed elf sitting in front of her with his hands on a bizarre wheel. What she thought was a wagon being pulled by horses turned out to be something entirely different. There were no horses driving this metal beast forward. Instead, it all seemed to be controlled by the person in the seat in front of her. She leaned to her right and peered over the metallic door next to her. Lucina noticed two large rubber wheels rolling across the ground.

Lucina turned to see another soldier sitting in the seat to her left with Falchion in his lap. His eyes were averted elsewhere. He was totally ignorant to the fact that Lucina had woken up. She took this time to examine the situation at hand. Either they simply made a mistake when they chose not to bind her feet and gag her or they simply did not have a means of doing so. Regardless of their reasoning, Lucina was not complaining.

" _That man in front seems to be controlling this thing_ ," she silently thought. " _If I can make him lose control, perhaps it will give me a chance to escape. So how do I go about this?_ "

Suddenly, an idea came to her. A faint glimmer of hope made itself visible to her. Lucina perked up and prepared herself. She took a deep breath as she thought about her actions one last time. She was unable to come up with a better idea and Lucina most certainly did not want to sit here forever trying to think of an alternative. Lucina had to act before the man next to her noticed that she was awake.

In a flash, Lucina lifted her left foot up off the floor of this odd moving machine and brought it down on the elf next to her. With all her might and speed mustered, Lucina closed her eyes and crushed the soldier's foot beneath her own. The sound of screaming and bones loudly cracking filled her ears.

"What the fuck," the elf in front exclaimed.

As he turned around, Lucina lunged forward and bit down on his ear. She immediately pulled herself back, taking the elf's pointy ear with her.

With both hostiles unable to do much of anything aside from enduring the pain, Lucina looked up to find that her plan appeared to have worked. They were headed for a nearby tree and the elf in front of her was too busy holding what used to be his ear to even notice.

Lucina leaned back in her seat. She shut her eyes tightly and waited for impact.

* * *

After fleeing from her wounded captors, Lucina found herself wandering through a more swampy area of the forest. She assumed going in the opposite direction would lead her to the river, but she was only successful in stumbling into more unfamiliar territory.

She waded through the water, observing all of the glowing fish that swam past her feet. If she stood still for long enough, a small collection of these neon fish would gather around her legs and inspect them. This was one of the rare times she did not have to hunt for another living animal in order to find it.

Eerie moss hung from the canopy overhead. Its green light shined down on Lucina. Enormous mushrooms towered over her. They illuminated her path with their blinding radiance.

Lucina's hands were still bound behind her back. She stumbled onward with Falchion underneath her arm. As the scenery grew more and more bizarre, Lucina finally decided to take a break. She felt secure enough in her distance from her captors to sit down on the nearest rock and begin the process of cutting the ropes that held her arms together.

She put her weight on Falchion until the blade was firmly dug into the muddy ground. She then sat down in front of it with her arms well behind the blade and pulled them towards herself. The binds sliced open upon contact with Falchion's edge.

With her hands freed, Lucina gently rubbed her wrists and moved them around to circulate blood through her hands. She looked up and observed her surroundings. Never once had she seen mushrooms stand so tall. Normally, every source of light was turquoise. This place appeared to be one of the rare instances where that rule was broken.

Lucina noticed the change in colors as soon as she set foot into this damp neck of the woods. The fish swarming her submerged feet had luminescent fins of amber that shined through the crystal clear waters. The moss above Lucina washed the crown of her head and shoulders in a bright green light. The mushrooms were a little bit more varied in their colors. Some of them were a deep ocean blue whereas others had a blood red glow. Given their size, anything in their general vicinity was completely tinted in the color of the mushroom.

"This place is so peaceful," she told herself aloud. Her words echoed through the silent but colorful world beyond. Just hearing her own voice made Lucina feel a little less lonely.

"I wonder how long it will last. How long will it take for even this tranquil land to turn against me?"

Lucina looked forward. The path ahead of her was one of water and neon fish. It was peaceful for the time being, but Lucina would not be deceived by the forest again. For now, she would take advantage of this momentary lapse in pain to relax for a little while. She laid her back against the rock, wrapped her arms around her head and slowly closed her eyes.

* * *

 _Note: While I wanted to save the mushrooms for a later chapter, I decided to go ahead and deal with that plot now. I personally was growing tired of writing about turquoise plants so you can expect to see a little more color in these descriptions during this next segment of Lucina's arc._


	14. Farewell

**Farewell**

The dining room was one of the only sections in the entire manor that could remotely be considered 'clean.' The table was clear of dust and cobwebs. Only a few seats remained near a once bright and lively table. The chandelier above looked as if it had not been used in ages. Mold grew on the depressing gray walls and the only source of light to be found here was the forest's blue glow that shined in from the filthy windows.

When Chrom entered the room, he immediately felt a sense of unease. He spotted Ghiaccio sitting on the table. The serpent spoke casually to Rhajat who sat on the far side of the room. Despite facing the entrance, Rhajat failed to notice him.

Hesitantly, Chrom stood there and waited for an opportune time to chime in and interrupted their admittedly bizarre conversation.

"You expect me to believe all that crap," asked Ghiaccio. "Fortune telling is a load of bullshit. Don't try to scam me."

"It's true," Rhajat flatly retorted. "Normally I scry into the stars or in one's palm to find out what secrets fate has hidden in store for them."

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed or not but we can't exactly see the sky with that extensive canopy in the way. I also don't have hands!"

Knowing this back and forth would probably go on forever, Chrom decided to intervene before Ghiaccio had a chance to employ his greatest talent; derailing conversations into day-long debates about irrelevant topics.

"Excuse me, Ghiaccio."

Rhajat and Ghiaccio turned to face Chrom. Neither of them seemed particularly pleased to have been interrupted or by the very sight of him.

"What do you want, King," asked the snake.

"We found the perpetrator,"

Ghiaccio tilted his head curiously. "Is he dead?"

Chrom nodded. "Indeed, but it was not we who are responsible. Something else killed him. I still have no idea what."

"Strange, but at least the bastard's dead. I trust you and your guys will get to the bottom of whatever happened to him? Normally, I wouldn't care but this hits a little too close to home."

"I'm sure we can figure that out in due time," Chrom said hesitantly. "But there is something else I wish to speak with you about. Can the time be spared?"

"Make it quick."

Chrom averted his attention to Rhajat. He had barely spoken two words to her since they had met. Chrom kept a close eye on her as he spoke. He would have preferred to confront Ghiaccio in private as he definitely had his doubts about Tharja's look-alike.

"Have you ever met a young woman named Lucina? She looks a lot like me and is often very quiet."

The serpent narrowed his eyes at Chrom. He glinted to Rhajat who shrugged her shoulders. Regardless of this odd turn of events, Ghiaccio remained completely calm, not giving a single hint of emotion in his words. "Where's this coming from all of a sudden?"

"The man we confronted," Chrom explained. "He told me that Lucina had paid him to spy on the property. Please, if you have seen her then tell me. I have to find her, Ghiaccio. She's my daughter."

With a stern look in his eyes, Ghiaccio formulated his response. "Is that so? Well, as a matter of fact, I have seen her. We met with her a few days ago, but I'm afraid that I have no idea where she is now."

He took on a more devious facade as he went into detail. A crooked smile took shape on his face while he told his story.

"I don't know where she went off too. She seemed to be in a bit of a hurry to leave. I think Robin has more information about her whereabouts. You should ask him."

Chrom felt a little relieved at the answer he had been given. While he felt he was now one step closer to finding her, Ghiaccio's story only proved to further complicate his understanding of the situation.

"This doesn't make any sense," Chrom argued. "What about the man we found behind the manor? He said she was intending on paying him to watch you. Why would she need to do that, especially given that Robin and Tharja have been with you?"

"Don't know what she intended to pay him if anything," Ghiaccio snickered. "Honestly, Chrom, it sounds to me like someone's lying. Since you're her father, I'd recommend finding out who and for what purpose. After all, these woods aren't known for being too merciful to those who choose to venture alone."

* * *

Tharja followed Robin toward the manor. It's haunting presence welcomed her home after their stroll to that abandoned cult.

She grinned with confidence as she walked with him across the field. She waited for Robin to acknowledge her work. Tharja wanted nothing more than to inspect the results, but she would have to wait until she gained his approval.

Growing tired of the silence, Tharja checked her surroundings one last time to ensure there were no potential eavesdroppers nearby. With the coast clear, she spoke out in pride.

" _Happy_ ," she creepily inquired. Her smile broadened as she spoke. "You wanted him to keep quiet. Unfortunately, I could not stop him from speaking her name, but at least he suffered before he died. Is that not what you wanted?"

Robin stopped in his tracks and turned to face his alleged wife. He was clearly not nearly as thrilled about the results as Tharja. "I just wanted him to be silenced. I'm not a sadist like everyone one else in this cursed place. The only things I want to ensure are our security and secrecy. The Shepherds currently outnumber us. Keep that fact in mind the next time you decide to pull a stunt like that."

Tharja rolled her eyes. Once again, he had found something else to complain about. His behavior was beginning to tempt Tharja into throwing a few hexes his way. "I acted in the spur of the moment," she argued. "There were no better alternatives."

"Why not use that paralysis spell you so loved to inflict on Ghiaccio and me?"

"I was out of range."

"What about something like Nosferatu?"

Tharja's smile grew as she slowly shook her head. "And give away our position? A cute spell like that would be effective against that dirty peasant, but it would be at the cost of subtlety. I used the only spell I had at my disposal that would kill him quickly. You should be thankful I was able to come up with such a unique hex in advance. Were it not for that night I spent experimenting on that decapitated corpse, this would not have been possible."

"Right. I'm sorry. I should have considered the position you were put in."

That was easily the last thing she expected to hear from Robin. She had anticipated him to continue lecturing her about something that could not be helped, but she wound up with the opposite response.

The Dark Mage grabbed a hold of her cape and moved it in front of herself, acting as if it were a substitute for the large tomes she would often hide behind.

"Are you feeling a bit under the weather today, Robin. You're acting strangely. For a moment, you almost resembled your old self."

"Have I really changed that much?"

Tharja nodded her head. "To be completely honest, I still have doubts that you really are _my_ Robin."

"What do you mean?"

She immediately regretted even bringing it up, but Tharja knew this was a puzzle she would have to solve at some point in the very near future. Judging by the quizzical look on Robin's face, she wondered if he had any memory of what she was referring to.

"There are two Robins," Tharja explained. She held up two fingers to further illustrate this fact. "The first you is the one I married. The second was a time traveling Robin who came to ensure our defeat against Grima. It took me awhile to notice, but you behave just like the latter. Do you see what I'm getting at, now?"

Robin saw extremely vague flashes of a man identical to him as he strained to remember what she was describing.

At this point, even Tharja had difficulty reading Robin. Normally, it only took a quick glance to tell what he was thinking. Two long years of relentless stalking had given her an uncanny ability to peer into his soul, but there were rare instances in which that was simply not possible. This appeared to be one of them.

"This is impossible for me to prove to you," he carelessly admitted. "Just know that I have no affiliations with that cult of suicidal lunatics. My only allegiance is to Ghiaccio and nobody else. _But_ I cannot stop you from being suspicious of me so why even bother?"

* * *

Robin entered the manor to find himself practically surrounded by Chrom, Frederick, and Lissa. He removed his hood and stared at them all with lifeless eyes.

Frederick was the first to speak up. He stood near the stairwell with his arm resting against the wooden railing. His expression was as stern as when they first met.

"Ah, Robin. There you are. We were just about to head out and go looking for you."

"What do you need," asked Robin.

Chrom approached him with a nervous look on his face. Robin took advantage of his unease and stared him down with the most belittling and harsh gaze he could possibly procure.

The Exalt forced a smile despite Robin's reaction. "I have a few questions for you. Questions regarding the whereabouts of Lucina. You see, Ghiaccio sent us to investigate some trespasser you two have been dealing with out here. We found him and he mentioned her by name. He said she was watching you both for some reason. I have to get to the bottom of this if I'm to have any hope of ever seeing her again. Please, just tell me everything you know."

"Ask Ghiaccio," Robin coldly replied.

"I already did that and he said to ask you. Honestly, Robin. Why would you not tell me that you saw my daughter? What is the meaning of this? Did it just slip your mind somehow?"

The thought of Robin forgetting something caused Tharja to smile at him. Tharja took this opportunity to chime in. She leaned to the left, revealing herself after spending most of this confrontation quietly standing behind Robin and observing the people around her. "That would not be surprising."

"Well, her whereabouts are not my concern so it probably did slip my mind," Robin continued, ignoring Tharja's remark. "So, what did Ghiaccio say about her?"

Frederick glared at Robin in suspicion. Acting quickly, he leaned towards Chrom and shielded his lips from Robin's view behind his hand as he whispered a bit of advice to Chrom. "Sir, I would not recommend answering that."

Chrom had no interest in this advice as it seemed a bit bizarre to him. He ignored Frederick and answered Robin regardless of his knight's warning, ruining Frederick's chance to spot any inconsistencies between Robin and Ghiaccio's stories.

"He said that she disappeared after meeting with you at the river. He also said you would know more about where she went than he would."

"Then you have your answer," Robin snarled. "Go to the river if you want to find her so bad. I'm sure that will work out _wonderfully_ for you."

With nothing left to say to Chrom, Robin headed for the stairs. Unfortunately for the former Shepherd, Chrom was not finished speaking to him. He grabbed Robin by the shoulder only for the silver-haired man to finally show a bit of emotion as he lashed out at Chrom. Robin wrapped his fingers around Chrom's wrist. He then threw Chrom's hand off of his shoulder, causing the Exalt of Ylisse to stumble backward.

Lissa immediately went to help Chrom regain his footing. She looked up and glared at Robin who was already walking off into the dark depths of the manor. " _Jerk_ ," she shouted. "What's gotten into you lately, huh!?"

She received no answer. Already, Lissa was reaching her wit's end with Robin. Judging from the look on her brother's face, she clearly was not alone.

* * *

Chrom called his few remaining loyal comrades together. The Shepherds met in the same room that they usually gathered in. This time, Frederick remained standing by the door. He left it cracked open and constantly kept watch over the hallway outside to ensure that no one would come and eavesdrop on them.

Cherche and Virion sat in a couple rotting chairs on the other side of the room. Lissa leaned against a wall of old books whereas Henry and Gregor stood on either side of Chrom, eagerly awaiting his next decision.

"What now, milord," Frederick inquired after the silence began to go on for a little too long.

"I'm not sure, Frederick. What do _you_ want to to do? I cannot in good conscious ask any of you to accompany me to this river up north. We all want to go home. I understand that but I cannot leave one of my daughters in this hellhole. Anyone who wishes to stay here on this property is more than welcome… so long as Ghiaccio himself approves of course."

"Perish the thought, sir," said Virion, dismissing Chrom's announcement with a nonchalant smile. "My skills as an archer are imperative to your survival. Without me, you shan't make it halfway to this river of which you speak. Consider my presence to be a favor!"

"Yeah, thanks," Chrom muttered before shifting his attention away from his egotistical archer.

Cherche crossed her arms and slowly shook her head. Leaning back in her seat, she shot a death stare at Virion. "I too will join you. We can't leave anyone behind. Such a fate is inhumane."

Henry's laughter caused the others to fall silent. All eyes fell upon him as he added his own response into the mix. "I'm in, so long as I get to murder a few people along the way. Sounds like a _killer trip_ to me!"

"You're as good as dead without Teach watching your back," Vaike cockily interjected.

"Gregor will come too! It is better than staying in creepy mansion with talking snake and weird stalker girls."

"Don't forget me," a frail but familiar voice exclaimed from behind Chrom.

The Exalt leaped from his chair in surprise. He twirled around to see a dark headed young man in massive orange and silver armor standing not but a couple feet in front of him.

The others had similar reactions. It was as if no one had seen him standing there. His armor eclipsed the nearest window, casting a shadow over half of the room and yet no one noticed this metallic giant standing behind them.

" _Kellam_ ," Chrom asked in a shaken tone. "H-How long have you been standing there?"

"What do you mean," the hulking knight questioned. He let out a disappointed sigh and dropped his heavily armored shoulders in sorrow. "I've been following you guys around this whole time. Has no one noticed me at all until now?"

"Gods," Cherche gasped. "How do you manage to be so undetectable?"

"It isn't like its intentional or anything."

Chrom recovered from his loss for words and turned back to his fellow Shepherds. After the initial shock of realizing that Kellam has been with them since the very beginning finally wore off, he moved on, somehow completely forgetting about Kellam's presence in the process.

"Well, if no one has any objections, I think the best thing to do is get moving as soon as possible. The only thing left to do is say goodbye to those we will be leaving behind."

"Are we going to come back for them," asked Lissa.

Her brother looked in her direction with a forced smile. Such a pivotal question and yet he was unable to answer it.

In the end, he could only give her an indefinite response.

"I hope so, Lissa. I genuinely hope so."

* * *

The Shepherds marched down the winding stairs and gathered around the mansion's front door. As everyone took one final look at the decrepit entrance hall, Chrom and Lissa began searching the area for any signs of Robin and his party.

As soon as he turned around to the face the hallway leading past the stairwell and towards the back of the ground floor, he spotted a cloaked figure standing in the shadows. Upon being noticed, Robin removed his hood, revealing his silver locks and the blue snake around his neck. If any doubt about who was standing there lingered in Chrom's mind, it was immediately erased with this one act.

The others quickly took notice of Robin's presence. Each of them stared at him with their own expression. Some of them looked at him with sorrow, others with worry, and one particularly wary knight gazed at him in suspicion.

Chrom forced himself to smile at his former tactician. He knew there would be no chance of Robin joining him, but he had to ask at least one more time. He had intended to stay as long as necessary if it meant that Robin could see reason, but he no longer had that luxury now.

"We're leaving," Chrom sighed. "I have to find Lucina."

"Farewell," Robin stated without a hint of hesitation.

"Yeah, see ya," Ghiaccio giggled. "Don't let the door hit ya on the way out."

Unfortunately for the snake and the tactician, Chrom was not about to leave so soon. He took a deep breath and addressed the only concern on his mind.

"Will you join us," he asked with desperate eyes. "I probably already know your answer, but hear me out. We will eventually leave this depressing place and return to Ylisse. Are you prepared to be left behind? Are you certain that you wish to remain here in these woods?"

"Yes," Robin flatly replied. "I am prepared. If you wish to leave, then leave but know that I am not traveling with you. My new home is here and Ghiaccio and I have many plans for the future."

"I won't even bother asking Tharja," Chrom announced. "I already know her answer."

He averted his eyes to the ground. Chrom wanted nothing more than to grab Robin and drag him out of the manor kicking and screaming, but he knew that would simply not happen. His next words were extremely forced but it was all he could do to muster a final 'goodbye.'

"Farewell, Robin. I wish you luck on whatever it is that you and Ghiaccio plan to do in the future. And always watch your back. You never know what might happen out there."

"We'll be sure to do that," Ghiaccio interjected. "And good luck to you too. The river is about a ten-hour walk north. Be careful when you get there. That's one of the most hostile places you could possibly be."

"That's why we're leaving now," Chrom admitted with a thankful nod. He turned his attention back to Robin and smiled. "Tell Tharja that we all said goodbye."

Robin did not respond to him. Instead, he silently stepped to the side. With him out of the way, Chrom could easily see Tharja herself standing in the background, watching him with a cold gaze.

"Ah," Chrom said with an embarrassed shrug. "There you are, as always. Well, farewell to you too, Tharja. Keep an eye on Robin for me."

Tharja rolled her eyes at this obvious request. "I always do."

Chrom hated the thought of leaving the two Shepherds behind, but he knew there was no choice, especially when considering what Ghiaccio had just said. With no other reason to prolong his stay here, he finally turned away from Robin and Tharja. As he moved towards the door, he listened to the other Shepherds give their final words of encouragement to their former allies.

The Exalt took one last look at his old friend as he and the others prepared to leave. The emptiness in Robin's eyes was heartbreaking to behold. None of the less, Chrom had to move on as his daughter was waiting. However, before he left, Chrom recited a silent vow. A vow he fully intended to uphold.

 _"_ _Hang in there Robin. I don't know what's happened to you, but we will solve this problem one way or another. We will meet again and we shall all return home safely."_

* * *

 _Note: There were a lot of cut scenes in this chapter which contributed to it taking much longer than anticipated. For one, I had hoped to revisit Lyndis and Lon'qu. I had an entire chapter written for them, but I decided to hold it back for the next chapter as well as a bunch of content featuring Lucina. Again, I would have just included that here, abut I feel as though that would have watered down the effect of the Shepherds finally separating from Robin and Ghiaccio._


	15. The Mushroom Kingdom

**The Mushroom Kingdom**

The sound of thunder echoed through the mansion's walls while heavy rain pelted the windows and showered down through the canopy, smashing into the soil. It was enough to wake Ghiaccio up from his peaceful slumber. Naturally, the snake was not too enthused about slithering down the wooden guardrail that lined the stairs.

As soon as Ghiaccio had reached the entrance hall, he immediately regretted his decision to get out of bed. The front door was left wide open. Tharja and Rhajat were currently in the process of dragging something into the manor. Upon further inspection, Ghiaccio was able to see its horns and hoofed feet. He realized immediately what they were trying to bring indoors.

"Tharja," Ghiaccio spoke out in an already defeated tone. "What's that?"

"It's a goat."

"So… _why_ are you dragging a live goat into my house?"

Under normal circumstances, he would shout at her and barrage her with verbal abuse just like he would with anyone else, but he was far too tired for any of that.

"We have plans to sacrifice this beast during this upcoming rite," Tharja nonchalantly admitted. "It should result in a powerful hex."

"Not in my house," Ghiaccio retorted. "If you wanna summon the devil then go do it outside. The last thing I want is a disemboweled goat bleeding out on my nice wooden floors."

"But it's raining outside."

This argument did not convince Ghiaccio in the least. He rolled his eyes at her without a trace of sympathy on his annoyed expression. "Then you better find an umbrella. Hell, go do it in the cellar if you have to but don't bring your weirdness into the house."

"Fine," Tharja growled. She then turned to Rhajat with a look of harsh resentment. "Come on. These people just don't understand."

Relief washed over the serpent when Tharja and Rhajat finally left. At least one crisis had been averted today.

* * *

As the storm raged on, those enormous mushrooms provided Lucina with some much-needed shelter. The water covering her feet appeared to be rising. While it was a slight change, Lucina did not want to spend any more time in this environment than what was necessary. She had to climb onto the stem of one of these mushrooms and cling to them just to get away from the water.

Hundreds of those odd fish were still swarming her. Their numbers had only increased since she had arrived. She managed to sleep for several hours before the rain woke her up. In that time, this handful of curious fish had increased to an entire horde. The water around her had been practically turned gold by their glowing fins.

They were still very calm around her and showed no signs of aggression, but their mere presence was becoming disturbing. There was no semblance of a current out here to warrant them hiding behind her legs so she was left utterly confused about why so many of these fish would find such a peculiar interest in her.

Lucina's observation of the local wildlife was cut short when she heard the sound of splashing coming from somewhere nearby. It was loud enough to be heard over the sound of rain crashing down around her. She scanned the surrounding area, but could not locate the cause of this odd sound. Lucina considered the possibility of it being a fish, but this thought did not put her at ease.

Lucina quickly slid off of the mushroom's stem and approached the nearest tree. She scaled the trunk of the tree with the intent on reaching an elevated vantage point. All the while, Lucina hoped that she would not be spotted by whoever or whatever was advancing on her.

* * *

Lon'qu left Lyn behind to explore the riverbank. Of course, this meant that he was completely ignoring her warnings to keep away from such a hostile area. Despite her droning on about the river was constantly being patrolled by the 'Lost Ones,' he had yet to see any signs of life near these tranquil waters.

The silence ended when Lon'qu overheard faint conversation up ahead. He could not hear exactly what the conversation was about and he had no way of knowing who these voices belonged to, but none of the less, he raced forward to see who was around. The voices became more clear as he drew closer. They led him off course and into a bed of vegetation that concealed him from the river.

He quickly stumbled upon two heavily armored individuals sitting among the neon shrubs. Lon'qu recognized these two as soon as he spotted them. The first person to catch his eye was a huge muscle-clad man in radiant gold armor. The woman next to him had light blonde hair and a suit of red and white armor.

He could recognize these two Khans of Regna Ferox without any issue whatsoever. Lon'qu went totally unnoticed by them. Their dark conversation went on without either of them ever being aware of his presence.

"They left hours ago, oaf," Flavia snarled. "We ordered them to return within the span of an hour and nobody has come back. We should have never sent them to the other side of the river. This whole damn place is ominous."

"Bah, they'll return soon," Basilio retorted with a dismissive wave. "It will take more than an empty forest to best my warriors."

Lon'qu could not believe what he was seeing. His mighty leaders stood there before him, discussing some dark matter to which he had little knowledge about. He was already beginning to lose hope in coming across any familiar faces in these woods. Other than Lyn and those so-called Lost Ones, he had not encountered another living soul.

Basilio's champion spoke out to both of them after taking a deep breath. Despite never being given a reason to fear his leader, he always felt a little nervous when speaking to him, especially when he was around Flavia.

" _And what if it isn't as empty as it seems?_ "

Lon'qu's voice sent a wave of shock into his two Khans. They stood up and each took a defensive stance until they realized _who_ had interrupted them. Basilio and Flavia relaxed at the sight of Lon'qu bowing to them.

"Lon'qu," Basilio announced in shock. Neither he nor Flavia appeared to have any idea on how to react to his presence.

"It's good to see you again, sir," Lon'qu respectfully informed. "Please me for my intrusion, but I simply had to say something. You two are the first familiar faces I have seen out here. From what little I've heard of your conversation, it appears that we are all in the same situation. Lost without any clue of how we got here."

Basilio smiled with approval at the sight of his loyal champion. He then directed that prideful smile to Flavia as if to silently brag about Lon'qu's return.

He turned back to Lon'qu and welcomed him with that brash grin. "It's good to see you as well. We were beginning to fear that we were completely alone out here. You sound as if you know a lot about this odd forest."

"No sir," Lon'qu denied. "I probably know just as much as you do. I woke up in an abandoned village nearby with no recollection of how I got there. Fortunately, I came in contact with a woman who has lived here for some time. She has shown and told me much in the little time that we have known each other. Whether that information is reliable or not is another discussion entirely, but at least it's something."

Out of everything Lon'qu had said, only one of those details managed to stand out to Basilio and Flavia. Flavia was the first to comment on it. She leaned in close to Basilio and whispered her thoughts into his ear.

"He met a girl out here?"

Basilio gave the woman a clueless shrug. "I suppose anything is possible."

* * *

Atop of a large tree branch, Lucina silently observed a monster as it skulked around in the water below. Her hand tightly gripped the handle of her sword as she prepared to dive down and slice the unsuspecting beast in half.

Now that she had a chance to get a closer look at the thing, she was beginning to have second thoughts about engaging it. The monster had pale skin and scrawny build like that of the aberration she had encountered previously. Its intelligence seemed to be off the charts when compared to the other monster as well. The thing wore light black armor and carried a curved sword in its right hand.

The creature had no face of which to speak of. The closest thing it had to facial features was a gory vertical scar along the front of its head that appeared to be sewn together. It looked as if someone had wrapped a layer of flesh around this monster's skull and stitched the skin closed.

Lucina had no idea how this monster could possibly navigate in this condition. While Lucina was in no position to criticize someone or _something's_ vision when she was unable to see out of one eye, but the thought of this entity being able to move around in the forest freely with such a bizarre handicap left the princess utterly confused.

Regardless, Lucina refused to let this creature carry on just so it could potentially track her down at a later date. She leaped from the branch and dealt a fatal blow to this monstrosity on her way to the ground.

The sound of a body collapsing into the water filled Lucina's ears. Lucina slightly relaxed her stance and took a deep breath. However, long before she had a chance to examine her fallen adversary, an armored fist came out of nowhere and collided with the left side of her face. Her new attacker was completely hidden in her blind spot and the attack sent her falling into the water.

Lucina held onto her sword as she slid away from her attacker. She sat there on the ground for a moment just trying to figure out what had happened to her. She felt as though her brain had been knocked up against her skull. Her head was throbbing and what remained of her vision was blurring and out of focus.

Despite all of this, she knew that she was still under attack. It took her what could have been a few fatal seconds to figure this out, but once she did, Lucina attempted to ignore the pain and find whoever was responsible. Of course, this alone was not much of a challenge.

Not but a short distance away, there stood a trio of disturbing monstrosities all bearing a similar appearance to the creature she had just dispatched. While she had no idea where they came from, Lucina did not bother asking.

She picked herself up out of the shallow waters and placed a hand on the left side of her face. Through her mask, she shot a hateful glare at the three monsters cautiously advancing on her from the brush. Two of them carried short swords while one of them was completely unarmed.

They appeared to be fast learners as it became apparent to her that they had already discovered her crippling blind spot. Lucina wondered if it was her own actions that made it obvious, but there was no way of knowing. She had no idea if it was because she constantly had to turn her head to see what the monster furthest to the left was doing, or the fact that she was unable to see these three advance on her. They themselves did not even have eyes or faces for that matter and yet they were able to keep track of all of these subtle hints.

Lucina took on a defensive stance and waited for her opponents to make the first move but none of them advanced on her right away. She could not deny the incredibly advanced intellect of these creatures when compared to the monster she had to deal with earlier. Seeing them in action compelled her to at least try and communicate.

"Any of you gentlemen know how I can get to the river from here," she sternly questioned.

To her surprise, one of them lowered their guard and pointed up ahead. Lucina glanced over her shoulder for a split second just to verify where his finger was pointed. She gave a thankful nod as she turned around.

"Thanks for the help. Now, is there any chance we can settle this without having to kill each other?"

No one backed down. Through this, they were able to communicate their response quite effectively. After realizing that diplomacy would get her nowhere, Lucina charged forward without a second thought.

She did her best to keep from overusing her left arm as she swung her sword towards the monster ahead of her. The beast skillfully blocked Falchion and the unarmed foe to his right took advantage of the opportunity.

He lunged for Lucina, placing one hand on her shoulder to keep her in place and successfully landed three punches on her face. Lucina stumbled backward in the process. Before she could react the monster planted his hand on her head and forced her downward. He then lifted his knee and drove her face into it with all his strength.

Lucina finally shoved him back and staggered away from her opponents. She slowly looked up, panting heavily. Blood seeped from her nose and mouth. She tried to ignore the pain as one of the monsters advanced on her with his sword at the ready.

Lucina ducked to the ground, narrowly escaping the blade's reach. His comrade charged Lucina before she had a chance to lash out with a counterattack. Lucina swung her sword at the oncoming blade, nearly knocking the monster off of its balance in the process. She lunged forward and stabbed the aberration in its stomach.

After that fatal wound was inflicted, Lucina leaped onto her feet and limped back to clear a bit of distance between herself and her two remaining opponents. Lucina charged forward and clashed with the monster in front of her. The unarmed foe took advantage of yet another opening left by this move. He jumped into the air to build momentum as he delivered another two punches to Lucina's jaw.

In a fit of frustration, Lucina swung Falchion in the creature's direction but the attack failed to connect. Lucina barely blocked an assault from the armed monster to her left. She cursed herself for not being able to see out of her left eye. Judging by how this fight was going, she knew it would be the death of her long before anything else could do her in.

With not choice but to focus on the monster to her left, the one on the right bolted out of sight. All it took was that one moment of hesitation with their swords crossed for Lucina to once again be put at a severe disadvantage.

She heard the splashing of water behind her but could do nothing about it while her sword was locked against the blade of her relentless adversary. Lucina slightly panicked at the thought of that unarmed individual going for the blade of his fallen comrade. Just when she began to wonder what exactly the other monster was doing so far out of her sight, she felt a branch hit her caves with intense force.

As Lucina recoiled in pain, the monster behind her bolted forward and attempted to hit her again with the branch. Lucina only barely managed to block it with her arm. Once she heard the branch snap into two pieces, she was finally able to land a successful punch on this menace of a foe. With Falchion in hand, her knuckles connected with the side of the monster's head which resulted in the beast falling face first into the water.

Before she could act on her newfound advantage, the creature's comrade lunged for her. Their blades met with the usual sound of metal bashing against metal, although this time, Lucina was able to muster up a bit more force than her foe. She nearly knocked him off of his balance. As their swords swiftly slid away from each other, Lucina was able to deliver a deep cut in the monster's left leg.

All three of them promptly backed off of each other after that. Despite that brief rush of adrenaline, the pain inflicted on her during this fight was wearing her down. Her adversaries were already recovering from the relatively minor damage she had been able to deal. These shallow waters covering the forest floor were not making matters easy on her either.

The unarmed monster suddenly circled around to her left side and charged her position and entered her blind spot. He twirled around faster than she could turn to see him. Lucina was knocked from her stance when the creature's foot connected with her head and sent her flying back.

Once on the ground, Lucina narrowly dodged an attack from her other opponent. She twirled her sword around in her hand to position it for another swing. This time, she managed to disembowel the monster, permanently ending all resistance from him.

Lucina stood up out of the water while her opponent fell down at her feet. With one enemy left standing, Lucina waited as he charged her. Both of them were clearly eager to see the fight's end. Lucina could barely stand upright. She knew if it did not end at this very moment, she would surely lose.

The straggler launched a kick in her direction with the intent on knocking her off her feet where he would have a chance of pinning Lucina down and drowning her. Unfortunately for this faceless monstrosity, Lucina had a small amount of energy to retaliate with.

As soon as the monster's foot just barely managed to connect with her torso, Lucina caught his leg with her left arm. Ignoring the pain from the burn along her forearm, she lunged forward, causing the monster to lose its footing and fall to the ground. Without a hint of hesitation, Lucina plunged Falchion into the creature's torso, tearing through its sternum and piercing its heart.

At long last, the fight was over. Lucina stumbled away from the group of corpses and turned around. She had only one thing on her mind and that was the river. Try as she might, Lucina could barely walk straight without collapsing to her knees in fatigue. This beating she had just endured was merely the newest addition to the torment she had been living through for the past few days. She sat there, waist-deep in the water just waiting for her strength to return.

The sound of splashing water from behind caused Lucina's blood to run cold. She finally decided to move, knowing that she had either not succeeded in killing one or more of her opponents, or another adversary had shown up. When she turned around, however, neither of these two scenarios had become a reality.

Lucina leaned forward and looked over the motionless corpses in horror. Those once innocent fish that had been following her on her journey through these ominous swamps were currently surrounding the bodies. They swam through the expanding pools of blood and dug their teeth into the flesh of the dead.

Lucina then looked down to see a small cluster of fish waiting by her feet. They made no efforts to attack her in the same way that others were now feasting on the corpses. She realized all too quickly that they were following her not out of curiosity but hunger. They had been waiting for her to kill over and become their next meal.

So many of these scavenger fish began swarming the area while they searched for the source of all of this fresh blood. Lucina became worried that they might decide to not wait for her to die before they started eating her. With all the strength and speed she could muster, Lucina fled the area and resumed her search for the river.

* * *

Robin wandered into the dining room after a long slumber. Ghiaccio was the first person he encountered after waking up. The serpent was clearly lost in thought. His unconscious shaking of his rattle was clear evidence of this. Anytime something was bothering the snake, whether it was an external or internal problem, he would always shake his rattle to some degree out of sheer instinct.

Suddenly, the serpent made eye contact with Robin and his rattling instantly stopped. "Oh, look who finally decided to get out of his comatose state! Did you have sweet dreams?"

"Not exactly," Robin murmured on his way to the table. He practically fell into the nearest chair and rested his head against the wooden surface. "So, where is everybody?"

"I think those freaks went down to the cellar to sacrifice a goat to the devil or something."

Robin perked up every so slightly, but he did not appear too concerned about this. "Where did they get a goat?"

Ghiaccio smiled at Robin, giggling at the mere thought of all their possible motives. "How should I know? I didn't ask. I don't care and I really don't want to know one way or another so why even bother?"

"I suppose that's why I woke up to what sounded like like a barrage of tortured screams echoing out from the pits of Hell."

"Oh, you heard that too," asked Ghiaccio. His nonchalant tone contradicted the horrific subject matter. "Been listening to that all morning. I always wondered what the cries of the damned sound like. Now, I know."

"You seem concerned about something, Ghiaccio. Is it their heretical ritual?"

The serpent let out a long drawn out sigh. He then firmly shook his head in denial. "Nah, I don't care about them. Besides, this place is already infested with vengeful spirits. I doubt one or two more is gonna change anything around here. It's Lyn that's bothering me. I told my buddies about one of her potential hideouts, but there's no way of knowing if she was even there or not. Who knows where she is."

"You mean that woman you mentioned a few nights ago? You said Lucina mentioned her name, correct?"

Ghiaccio nodded. "Yep. She's obviously got the endurance of a goddamn cockroach. It's been five years since the last time I had the displeasure of dealing with that slimeball. She shouldn't know where the manor is, but that doesn't put me at ease. Just knowing someone out there is looking for us irks me to no end."

"Is this woman really that intimidating?"

"Get it straight, Robin," Ghiaccio snapped. His head rose up in frustration and his eyes narrowed to an icy glare. "I said it irks me, but that doesn't mean it terrifies me! I'm not afraid of anybody, least of all that piss-ant, Lyn. Either way, I still don't like it! She's a minor annoyance. A thorn in my side. A slightly bothersome interloper."

The conversation fell silent for awhile. Robin thought on the issue during this time. He recalled all of the times he would order scouts to patrol surrounding areas during his time fighting for Ylisse. Even the slightest hint of a pursuer provoked him enough to halt whatever they were doing just to snuff those potential spies out.

He quietly leaned back in his seat after reaching the conclusion. A potential solution to their problem that he had employed countless times before.

"Perhaps we should try and find her before she finds us. If we can dispatch her quickly, then there will be nothing else standing in between us and the Faceless City."

Ghiaccio huffed at such a proposal. "Fuck that noise," he snarled dismissively. "She isn't worth the wasted effort. The bitch doesn't know where we live and she definitely has no clue about where we're headed. Honestly, I don't even know why I'm so worried. I guess your paranoia is rubbing off on me."

Robin rolled his eyes upon hearing that last little remark. "Don't forget that Lucina had contact with this woman. It isn't far-fetched to say that they might have exchanged information about us during that time. In fact, I would be surprised if they didn't."

While Ghiaccio was not exactly pleased to hear this, it was a reality that he had yet to even realize. He hissed in anger, wanting nothing more than to shut down Lyndis in the same brutal way he dispatched Lucina.

"Let's not worry ourselves about it too much. All we have to do is hold out for now. In a few more days we'll be heading out and I don't even think that psychopath is crazy enough to follow us to the Faceless City."

* * *

Lyndis cautiously moved through the woods with a recently killed rabbit in hand. The damage done to the corpse was more than enough evidence to signify a rather painful fate. Blood dripped from its cracked skull and left a trail along with her footprints.

Her stroll through the woods was nothing short of peaceful until she was had returned to the spot where she had last seen Lon'qu. However, the sound of unfamiliar voices up ahead caused her to stop in her tracks.

Were it not for the occasional few words mumbled by Lon'qu's familiar voice, Lyn would have taken a much more hostile approach to whoever was lying in wait.

Lyn turned in the direction of the river. It was obvious to her that the voices were coming from that direction. She took some relief in hearing Lon'qu's relaxed tone, but upon realizing that she herself was currently the topic for conversation, she remained exactly where she was and proceeded to eavesdrop.

"I believe she might be suffering from a mild form of psychosis. Obviously, I'm not a doctor, but this is the only way I can describe it. So, when she starts going on about all sorts of impossible nonsense, just try to follow along. I cannot say for certain what she will do if she snaps."

As Lon'qu emerged from the shadows ahead, he silenced himself upon making eye contact with Lyn. He could almost see his own reflection in those wrathful emerald orbs. For a moment, she had a disturbing look of rage ingrained on her face.

Her foul expression soon faded away as soon as Lyn noticed the two people behind him. She gave them both a welcoming smile while acting as if that nasty look she gave Lon'qu not but a moment ago had never existed.

The two of them froze in place after they had spotted her.

"Oh, there you are, Lon," Lyn called out in a friendly tone. "Care to introduce me to your new friends?"


	16. Alone Again

**Alone Again**

Flavia and Basilio listened to Lyn in awkward silence. They did not need Lon'qu's warnings to help them figure out that this young lady was clearly not in the correct state of mind. Her eyes were wide with uncanny enthusiasm. Basilio even began mentally counting the times she blinked after noticing how rare it was when she actually did so. She had noticeable tremors in her hands and the amount of eye contact she made with them was almost uncomfortable.

The most disturbing sight to behold, however, was easily the dead rabbit that Lyn was currently toying with. Judging by its condition, it looked as if it had suffered a terrible and slow fate.

"You know," Lyn abruptly asked, completely changing the subject without warning. "It's a shame your soldiers never came back, but I'm afraid it was a huge mistake to send them across the river. That's where the Lost Ones live. Normally, when they come across human warriors of any kind, they do their utmost to emasculate them. I hate to say it, but if they haven't returned by now, then I'm pretty sure they have already been captured or killed… _or both_."

Flavia and Basilio gave each other disturbed glances before she decided to inquire Lyn about her odd theory. "What do you mean by emasculate? What do they do to those they capture? Why would they capture our men in the first place? We only sent them on a scouting mission in the first place. Most of them weren't even armed."

"Then I'm afraid they were sent off in even worse shape," Lyn regrettably informed. "Normally, the Lost Ones will engage with humans regardless of their intent. When they come across an organized band of warriors, though, they often tend to remove, or if that is not possible, chop off the genitalia of their victims and send their bodies back across the river. So when I use the term 'emasculation,' I mean it in a completely literal sense."

The two Khans immediately stood up and focused their attention on the river to their right. Lyn quickly figured out the intent behind this change in behavior and waved them down before they had the chance to act on their rash thoughts.

"Let them die," Lyn nonchalantly requested. "If you attempt to traverse the river, you'll wind up in the exact same position. Tortured, violated, humiliated, and murdered. Probably not in that order. It would really be a shame if the same happened to you."

* * *

After a long and tiring walk from the manor, Chrom's team finally managed to reach the river. They vividly remembered Ghiaccio's warning and stayed out of sight, hiding behind a line of shrubs and brush while they observed the opposite bank.

Virion's boasting of his own eyesight earned him the duty of hiding behind a shrub so he could examine the opposite in of the river in secrecy while the others remained behind him. They waited for him to address the state of the river, but their constant and impatient whispering did not help him focus on spotting potential threats.

"Such a peaceful place this is," Chrom murmured. "I think Ghiaccio was just trying to scare us. This forest is probably the most tranquil land I've ever seen."

"Do not be so quick to judge, sir," Virion advised as he turned away from the shrub and ducked behind its glowing leaves. "I will agree with the irrefutable fact that there is no forest more beautiful and empty. We have yet to come across a single threat or sign of conflict in this wondrous land. However, this is also what worries I, _Virion_ , above all else. For the silence may bring us comfort now, but never allow yourselves to..."

Cherche suddenly spoke up, interrupting Virion before he could finish that long-winded opinion. "While we have not had any hostile encounters yet, it is still unwise to deem this place wise. Virion and I can agree in that regard."

The Exalt stared at his Shepherds with a blank expression. The duo was beginning to sound a lot like Frederick all of a sudden.

"I'm not recommending that we lower our guard," Chrom declared. "I was merely commenting on how peaceful this forest has been thus far."

* * *

In stark contrast to the serene time the Shepherds were having by the river, Lucina slowly waded through the murky waters of a colorful swamp. She barely struggled to keep her foot after the beating she took.

With a limp, Lucina managed to press on. Every step forward sent a jolt of pain through her body. Her head hung low in despair. She often found herself jumping at the sight of her own shadow after having to fend off so many different threats. All paths seemed to lead to a new danger which was bound to have a few more injuries to the cutting board that was her body.

Lucina began wondering if every monster and elf that called these woods 'home' decided to use her as their own personal punching bag. While she was not totally defenseless, it was becoming more and more difficult to fend off these threats with all of the merciless beatings she had to endure before overcoming said obstacle.

So far, the coast was clear. The path before her was completely void of any foreseeable danger. Lucina only had the cult of amber fish behind her to provide company on this lonely journey. After a few hours of nonstop walking, Lucina started to notice a return of turquoise plants that quickly overtook the plethora of neon colors she had previously grown accustomed to seeing.

The water felt shallower as she pressed on. She found herself moving towards an oddly familiar stench. It was the unmistakable smell of rotting flesh. Lucina looked around for anything that may have died in the vicinity but she could see nothing.

Suddenly, Lucina became a bit curious about those fish behind her. While she was unsure if she even wanted to bother herself with finding the location of said corpse, she knew those carrion fish would be the first to guide her. However, when Lucian looked back over her shoulder, she was surprised to see that the swarm was now keeping an abnormally long distance from her. She often found it hard to walk forward without tripping over one of the things every few steps but now they were several yards away and none of them appeared to be willing to press on any further.

Out of curiosity, Lucina took a few steps forward to see if they would follow but they did not. She cleared, even more, distance only to witness the same result. Lucina let out a regrettable sigh as she turned back to the solitary path before her.

"Sorry," she murmured as if she were about to part ways with a band of good friends. "But it looks like I won't be your next meal. Surprising, right? I should have died days ago and now your little habitat just doesn't know what to do with me."

With nothing left to say she started off for the woods ahead. Her aquatic companions watched as she left them behind. None of them were willing to tail her any further.

Though it pained her greatly, she knew the wildlife waiting for her out there would probably never be as calm and peaceful as those she was currently forced to move leave behind with the full intent of never returning.

* * *

Lyn rushed to keep up with Lon'qu's two superiors. They raced to the river after hearing Lyn's warning with the full intent on crossing it. Her pleas for them to remain hidden fell upon deaf ears.

Flavia and Basilio forced their way through the brush and reached the riverbank. Directly north of their position was what Lyn would refer to as 'sadist territory.' A part of the forest she had never visited nor had any desire to even look at.

"Wait," Lyn demanded. "They're already dead! If you go any further then you'll end up just like them!"

Fortunately for Lyn, they did not even have the chance to take the first step into the water. The two froze and stared off towards the opposite end of the river. Lyn was bewildered by this unexpected twist of events. She looked to Lon'qu who appeared to be staring in the same direction with a ghostly pale expression.

Lyn stepped out from behind Flavia and Basilio and scanned the area for whatever had grabbed their attention. She did not want to break the silence for fear that any nearby elves might see them. It did not take but a split second for Lyn to see the problem. Her little prophecy had come true to an uncanny degree.

Strung up along the treeline to the north was a line of men who had been stripped of their clothes and genitalia alike. Lyn was the only one to be virtually unaffected by this sight. She would have expected no other result from such a reckless order.

" _So_ ," Lyn began. "Still want to cross the river?"

Another hour of walking and that foul stench had only grown stronger. Lucina had become overwhelmed by it. By now, there were no large glowing mushrooms around her and the only light to be seen was the usual turquoise that most of the plants radiated.

A thick clear slime covered the trees around her. The water she waded through slowly accumulated a more syrupy texture the more she pressed on. After awhile, Lucina looked down only to find that the water she was wading through was not really water anymore. Her stomach turned at the sight of it. She was submerged up to her knees in nothing but pus and mucus.

Lucina figured out all too quickly where she was headed. She forced herself to continue on only to be greeted another familiar sight. Long vines extended down to the forest floor from the canopy. Attached to the ends of these vines were the same humanoid creatures Lucina came across shortly after her failed attempt on Ghiaccio's life.

Each of them had been disemboweled, but oddly enough, no blood seeped from their wounds. The only liquid to accompany their spilled entrails was a large amount of pus.

Lucina quickly averted her eyes from the bodies, but looking to the ground was equally unpleasant as it was a disturbing reminder of the fact that she was wading in a swamp filled with the intestinal mucus of the dead. She covered her lips with her hand to prevent herself from puking up the small amount of food she managed to scavenge during her little journey. She could not help but sit there and dry-heave while she desperately tried to calm down.

As much as she did not want to look up, Lucina kept her eyes peeled for that little creature she spotted during her first encounter with this place. A cruel revelation hit Lucina while she struggled to hold her own against the overwhelming stench. Her pale visage twisted with rage at the thought of her own foolishness.

" _I can't believe it_ ," she mentally screamed in a fit of anger. " _I've gone in one giant circle! I've been bitten, burnt, kidnapped, and battered all to end up right back_ _here_ _! To hell with this_ _glowing_ _maze_ _! I hope th_ _is whole place burns down_ _!_ "

She at least saw a silver lining in this depressing revelation. She looked to the west with a small amount of hope boiling somewhere within her tormented soul.

"I'm getting close," she reassured herself, clinging to what little hope she had left. "I keep going and I'll be right back where I started."

With no other option, she took a deep breath and held it for as long as she could. Lucina repeated this process constantly while she marched on. It was hard enough to breathe in this swamp of death even without the extra help. She followed the deepest stream she could find, only hoping that it would eventually connect to the larger river which would act as her guide from then on.

* * *

Chrom's team had not yet moved from their hiding spot near the river. Despite the area being seemingly devoid of activity, Chrom decided to hold back for awhile.

Silence overtook the Shepherds for the longest time. A result of feeling a bit paranoid that someone might be listening in on them.

Eventually, the sound of Henry's girlish laughter pierced the quiet atmosphere. Everyone lethargically turned toward him, expecting nothing more than some twisted joke involving the rotting head he continued to carry around and use as some demented excuse for a sock-puppet.

"What's so funny," asked Chrom."

They could do nothing but wait for Henry to regain his composure, but he failed to do so. After a moment of hysteria, he simply pointed up toward the branches overhead. Everyone lifted their heads upward to see what had gotten Henry so worked up.

Above them was a woman sitting among the branches. She was dressed in familiar clothing and stared right back at them with a pair of huge crimson eyes and a cheerful smile.

She gave them a friendly wave and spoke out upon realizing that she had been spotted. "Salutations, Chrom! Long time no see!"

For a second, Chrom was utterly speechless, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him. When it was clear that he was not going to respond, his sister took his place and spoke for him.

"Anna!? Is that you?"

"The one and only!"

Anna jumped down from her branch and landed in the center of the group. She rose a triumphant fist high in the air as soon as she was able to straighten her stance. Her cheery facade instantly met with Chrom's quizzical stare. She pointed at him accusingly and widened her smile.

"I knew I wasn't the only one lost out here! What a coincidence to run into you guys!"

Chrom quickly snapped out of his astonished state as soon as he noticed that she was addressing him. As out-of-the-blue as her appearance was, Chrom could only really think of one thing to ask. "Good to see you again too. I guess we really aren't the only ones. Do you have any information at all about where we are? Any clue as to how we ended up here?"

"Nope," Anna denied. Her tone was swift and without a care in the world. "Although, I do have some information regarding one of your daughters. _That is…_ unless you already know."

Chrom gasped in shock. It was as if some divine being had sent Anna just to bless him with this information. "What? Which one!? Is she okay!?"

The merchant put on a sly smile and pressed her index finger against her lips. " _Perhaps_ ," she suggested, her twisted smile slowly expanding as she went on. "Lucina has been captured. I witnessed it myself. I was just on my way to confront the person behind it. I assume you would want to join me in the liberation of your offspring, yes?"

Naturally, Chrom stood up and clenched the sword at his waist. "Of course! Just tell me what happened!"

Cherche nudged Virion while Anna continued with her weird conversation. Virion appeared just as confused as she was. She leaned forward and whispered to him, hiding the movement of her lips behind her hand to prevent anyone else from figuring out what she was saying.

" _What's going on? Where did she even come from?_ "

"Not to mention her inconsistencies thus far," Virion quietly added. "A moment ago, she was acting as if we were the first familiar faces she has come across, but now she's rambling on about Lucina's whereabouts. A bit _too_ convenient if you were to ask me."

Ignorant to the conversation going on in the background, Anna went on to gleefully describe what should be a rather tragic event. "It was terrible," she pleaded, her smile completely betraying her tone of artificial distress. "An awful woman came out of nowhere and kidnapped Lucina. On top of that, she stole some of my merchandise! By the way, if you're interested in purchasing your very own floating tree then they are only a measly monthly fee of..."

"Please stay focused, Anna," Chrom begged.

Anna did as told with much reluctance. She made a mental note to revisit that little topic in the near future.

"Right, sorry. I just get a little carried away when I find something new to add to my inventory, but I digress."

"Thank you," Chrom snarled.

"We can still find the culprit if we leave now," said Anna. "I'll give you more details on the way. For now, just keep your eyes peeled for a girl with a blue dress and a ponytail."

At this point, Frederick could take no more of Anna's odd story. While he was unable to think of a reason not to trust her, but he found it all a little hard to wrap his head around.

He stood up from the ground and placed a hand on Chrom's shoulder. "Perhaps we should hold back, for now, sir," Frederick warned. "Anna, while I hate to accuse you of lying, this all sounds a bit off. If you're in such a hurry, then why were you sitting up in those branches stalking us? How long were you there? How long would it have taken for you to reveal yourself had Henry not have done it for you?"

"All decent points," Virion chimed in. "As much as I hate to agree when one of our own could very easily be in dire need; we should take a more cautious approach or at least until our beautiful merchant gives us all the little details."

" _Enough_ ," shouted Chrom. "There's no time to debate the matter." He then turned to Anna out of desperation, his eyes practically begging for her cooperation. "We'll help you find whoever is responsible for this. So long as we get Lucina back."

Anna gave him a coy wink and pointed westward. Her smile was more triumphant than ever. That expression alone caused Frederick to feel even more apprehension.

"That's the spirit. Well, come on! Time is money!"

She then marched off through the brush to take the lead. As Chrom followed closely behind, a few of the more concerned Shepherds exchanged worried glances. Regardless of their own suspicions, no one objected.

The Shepherds proceeded to follow Anna without a clue about their destination. Most of them were at least happy to be moving again as opposed to hiding in the brush all day.


	17. Radio Silence

**Radio Silence**

After a measly ten minutes of walking and the Shepherds were once again held up and unable to do anything. They rushed with Anna down the river for a brief while until she randomly decided to stop and asked for everyone to stay put. After a bit of bickering, Chrom reluctantly ordered his team to comply with her request. She then waded through the water and disappeared into the vegetation on the opposite bank.

While Anna had only been gone for a short time, every passing second felt like an eternity to Chrom. He kept checking the other side of the river with the hope that he might see Anna, but that never happened.

Frederick watched the river with just as much interest. He kept on the look out, not for Anna, but anything even remotely suspicious. The knight remained quiet about his worries, but he fully anticipated the appearance of some sort of trap.

However, where Frederick was content with keeping quiet, others were not so keen on retaining their thoughts.

"I must say, this whole debacle wreaks of malice," Virion proclaimed.

"Oh," Cherche interrupted. "And here I thought it was you that I was smelling."

Virion was immediately sent on the defensive. He gasped in offense as if he had just received one of the worst insults in recent memory.

"How dare you!? My fragrance alone has won the yearnings of maidens across the land. _Well…_ not _this_ land, but you get the point."

"Can we please stay focused," Chrom pleaded.

Reluctantly, Virion decided to let Cherche's comment slide. For now. He then stood up as if doing so would give him an advantage during the impending debate.

"My liege, do you not think it odd that Anna decided to show up during such a continent time. We had no leads. No ideas about where we should go. The only thing we knew for certain was that we were going to find Lucina and hopefully regroup with any other lost comrades that have been lost in the forest as well. Then she shows up out of nowhere and expresses the dire need for haste in confronting this 'Lyn' person who she insisted had answers about Lucina's whereabouts. Despite that, here we are twiddling our thumbs while she's off doing who knows what!"

Chrom glinted over his shoulder. Still no sign of Anna. Since he could not refute anything Virion was saying, he kept quiet.

"And lest we forget that she isn't the only one who's been off their rocker lately," Virion rambled on. "Robin was acting as if he were a different person while we stayed at that serpent's manor. There is an obvious, reoccurring pattern here. Let's also remember that peasant who so desperately tried to tell us something before being mysteriously murdered by a swarm of maggots that literally ate their way out of his body. Not into his body, they were already inside of him. He was perfectly healthy when we found him which leads me to believe that was the work of some dark spell."

"I personally find it suspicious that Robin and Tharja showed up shortly after he died," Frederick chimed in. "Not to mention the fact that he died right before passing on vital information about Lucina. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to think that they were hiding something from us. I mean, it was obvious from the beginning so there is no reason to believe it had nothing to do with her."

"As much as I hate to sound like a paranoid lunatic," Virion added. "I'm beginning to suspect a conspiracy is brewing around us. A plan concocted by someone who has no interest in us, but will use us if need be."

These warnings would go ignored by Chrom. He simply could not reach the same conclusion as his trusty knight or the 'archest of archers'. The only thing he found worrisome was the copious amounts of paranoia that were plaguing his party.

He did not even bother responding to their complaints. His only focus was getting to the bottom of his daughter's whereabouts. Everything else on his growing list of problems would just have to wait.

* * *

Anna hid behind a tree, watching over a squadron of three darkly dressed, elven soldiers who were far too busy relaxing and ignoring their duties to notice her. Chatter between the troops died out long ago, but hearing their gossip did not exactly interest Anna in any way.

Suddenly, a new person emerged from the dense foliage around the little clearing they had set up in. He looked familiar, but Anna figured that was only the result of all of these elves looking very similar.

" _Captain_ ," the soldier called out. "Elzene is almost here. I've got some more news as well. Apparently, a reconnaissance team encountered and dispatched a group of humans wandering around west of our position. From what they reported, it sounds a lot like the weirdos we encountered shortly before Gio paid us a visit."

"Seriously," asked one of his comrades, presumably the _captain_. "You mean they had swords and all that other medieval shit?"

The soldier nodded. "Yeah. Hey! Maybe we should capture one and interrogate them. Perhaps we could learn a thing or two about these morons that think they can take on the Queen's army with a bunch of swords and axes."

Another elf then decided to add his own opinion to the mix. "Let's just be thankful they aren't smart enough to pick up a carbine."

"If they did, then I'd bet they'd at least have better aim than you," one of the elves remarked. "Heinrich had to order you a one of those new semi-autos just so you could have a hope of hitting anything."

"Nothing to do with skill, Hans. You guys can keep your primitive bolt action weapons like the cavemen you are. Me? I'm heading towards the future, baby. The Kar 43 is the first stepping stone to a brighter tomorrow. Now, if only those bastards would hurry up and send it to me. I hate waiting around like this! I wanna kill something with it!"

Realizing that this conversation was probably going to drag on for all eternity, Anna decided to reveal herself. The merchant took a deep breath before stepping out of hiding. Naturally, the soldiers spotted her and immediately turned their weapons on her.

While Anna had no idea how these bizarre devices actually worked, she knew the end result was instantaneous death. She carefully removed her sword from its sheath at her waist and threw it on the ground. Anna then held her hands up in the air and smiled at them.

"Wait! Don't attack! I'm a friend of Ghiaccio's."

* * *

The mansion was as quiet as always. Tharja and Rhajat were busy performing some terrible ritual down in the cellar. Any noise being made by them was contained well below the surface. Ghiaccio and Robin, on the other hand, spent their day in the dining room.

They were busy doing nothing as usual. Robin twiddled his thumbs, waiting for something to crop up and stave off his boredom. Anything at all that he could do to pass the time would be very welcome. Ghiaccio was in the same position except he, unfortunately, had no thumbs to twiddle.

Both of their minds worked simultaneously to think of some task that needs completion. Robin even suggested they head down to the cellar to watch whatever sick ritual was going on below their feet, but that would entail getting up from the table which was far too much of a hassle. In essence, their own boredom was a self-sustaining force that fed off of their lack of motivation.

Conversations continuously died off almost as soon as they had sparked. Ghiaccio was always the one to instigate these brief discussions. Anytime the serpent lifted up his head, Robin knew he had something to say. Without fail, Ghiaccio continued his routine when a new question spawned from the depths of his twisted mind.

"Hey, Robin," the serpent announced. As soon as Robin tiredly perked up, Ghiaccio continued. "You remember those two oddballs that used to hang out around these parts? They had those weird looking blindfolds and always carried around a couple swords."

It took a moment for Robin's memory on the matter to return to him, but he managed to remember such a peculiar pair of individuals fairly swiftly.

"Oh, yeah. I remember those two. What about them?"

"Whatever happened to 'em? I haven't seen those two in like… forever."

"I believe that's because they died," Robin reminded.

The snake was stunned by Robin's cold answer. He almost appeared a bit disappointed by this information.

"Really!? What was the cause!?"

"You."

Ghiaccio hesitated for a second. Suddenly, he remembered exactly what Robin was referring to. The snake nodded his head after this little revelation hit him.

He seemed visibly upset over what Robin might consider to be a minor loss. "Dammit! Why'd I do that? I know the woman was a total bitch but I liked the other one. They had so much in common with you, as well. You guys had the same hair color and you all apparently come from different worlds. It's almost like you're part of their cult or something."

Robin did not bother responding to him. He was perfectly fine with this particular conversation ending swiftly. Of course, this was not the end of Ghiaccio's attempts at conversation."

"I have an idea! Maybe we should just set this whole damn place on fire," the snake abruptly suggested. "That would be fun, right?"

"Where would we sleep?"

It quickly became obvious to Robin that Ghiaccio had not thought that far ahead in his plan. "Good point," he agreed. "But I have another idea! Let's go on a hunger strike!"

"What are we protesting?"

"We can protest Tharja and Rhajat. That damn goat left scratches on my nice wooden floors near the door. I say, we pressure them into fixing it up for us. Genius, no?"

Robin almost found his suggestion laughable. "Genius, _no_ ," he retorted. "Knowing Tharja, she'd just let us starve."

"Oh, we won't starve," Ghiaccio corrected. Robin looked to him bewilderment until Ghiaccio elaborated further on his odd response.

"Yeah. We're not gonna do what all of those other dumbasses do. Everybody takes those hunger strikes _way_ to literally! We'll just eat when we get hungry and then go back on strike! Nobody would ever be the wiser."

Robin tried to appear a little more enthusiastic about Ghiaccio's pointless plan, but he failed miserably to portray much of any emotion aside from sheer, mental agony. "Truly, you are a genius."

"That's right, now let's go..."

Ghiaccio's boasting was cut short by a knock at the front door. The duo simultaneously perked up and looked towards the entrance hall.

"Is that Tharja," asked Ghiaccio.

Robin shook his head. "I doubt it. Why would she knock?"

The serpent did not have a proper answer for Robin aside from simply, 'she wouldn't'. Ghiaccio let out a groan as he slithered across the table to clear the distance between Robin and himself.

"Alright, pick me up," he ordered. "Put on a smile and let's go see who's come to visit us on this miserable day."

After doing as told, the two set off for the entrance hall to greet whoever had the bright idea to visit them.

* * *

When Robin opened the door, Ghiaccio was still clinging to the hope that the person behind it was someone who might have noticed the 'for sale' signs nailed to several trees around the property. Unfortunately, when the visitor was finally revealed, the serpent was disappointed yet again.

He frowned at the sight of a certain elf's familiar face. His iconic black uniform and bolt action rifle were not the sight of an interested client.

With a depressed sigh, Ghiaccio greeted the soldier standing outside his decrepit manor. "How's it going, Heinrich? What brings you here?"

Ghiaccio tilted his head to see if he could spot Heinrich's means of reaching his remote home and sure enough, he spotted a vehicle parked on his lawn. The snake would most certainly yell at Heinrich for that as soon as he got the chance. What truly annoyed Ghiaccio, was how these elves always insisted on leaving their vehicles in the same exact spot as if to intentionally irritate him.

"There have been some changes to the operation Elzene has been leading," the elf informed. "She's delayed the whole event which means the armored divisions won't be showing up when we expected."

"Good," Ghiaccio cheered. "So that means we get to head out early, right? I take it you'll be driving us back across the river. How generous of you."

"That isn't all, Gio."

There was that nickname again. Merely hearing it annoyed Ghiaccio more than the tire marks on his lawn.

"Stop calling me that," he ordered. "That's not even how you pronounce the first damn syllable of my name, to begin with so just stop it!"

Heinrich had neither the time nor the stamina to engage in a debate with Ghiaccio over the matter so he decided to ignore his little rebuttal.

"Uh, anyway. Elzene was heading down here early to talk to you. I was going to just let her come get you and your weirdo friends, but something else happened earlier today. Something that calls for your immediate attention."

"Well, get on with it! What happened!?"

"Someone came by our usual hangout spot. She said she was a friend of yours. She went on to claim that she knows the location of one of your enemies. A woman by the name of Lyn. Ring any bells?"

Ghiaccio was stunned. He briefly glinted at Robin with a puzzled expression. The serpent then turned to face Heinrich. He struggled to recollect himself after being completely lost in that wave of information.

"What!? I've know Lyn but who the hell is the girl you met today. What was her name?"

"She said her name was Anna. She had red hair and ponytail."

"Never heard of her, but she's got my interest. Whoever she is."

Ghiaccio's response worried Heinrich. He left his team alone with someone who claimed to be the snake's friend, but that was obviously a lie. His only available option was to allow Ghiaccio the chance make some sense out of this whole ordeal before he ordered his comrades to kill her.

"Come over here," Heinrich requested, nodding his head towards his means of transportation. "I'll get you on the radio and we can sort this thing out."

* * *

The only thing preventing Tharja's ritual from continuing was the caster herself. Rhajat had already finished off her part of the rite. Everything was in order. They had lined the floors with a foreboding circle drawn in goat's blood. Complicated sigils were drawn on the walls, and candles had been placed all over the cellar.

Rhajat looked up from the circle and turned to Tharja. "Everything is ready. Go ahead."

She stood up and stepped out of the circle. For the results they were trying to achieve, this ritual seemed a bit too complex to Rhajat but she did not question Tharja's methods. Rhajat cleared a safe distance and waited for her to begin the rite, but something was obviously bothering her. She noticed Tharja's hesitation and curiously furrowed a brow at her borderline fearful expression.

"Something wrong?"

Tharja shook her head. At first, she was content with leaving her response as it was, but she could not hold her tongue.

"I've never done anything like this before," Tharja insisted. "Something has caused Robin's personality to change drastically. Change in the fact that he practically no longer has a personality. I see traces of him every once and awhile but it isn't enough. This hex should fix that problem, but what are the side effects of altering someone's personality?"

"Only one way to find out."

Under normal circumstances, Tharja would be the first person to say this. She would have no qualms playing with the minds of anyone else on the planet, but her husband was a different case. None the less, she did not refute Rhajat's point. Instead, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

She felt a foul sensation surround her hand. Tharja could have never imagined casting such a drastic, mind altering curse on Robin of all people, but she also could never imagine encountering a talking snake either.

"He belongs to me," she whispered to no one in particular. "He's mine so give him back. Give him back!"

The atmosphere of the cellar changed in an instant. Something ominous filled the air. A strange sensation that Tharja was not exactly unfamiliar with.

To Rhajat's surprise, it disappeared just as quickly as it manifested. That oppressive atmosphere suddenly vanished, removing its own weight off of her soul. Tharja's ritual finished in just a few seconds.

Rhajat looked around the cellar curiously. Nothing had changed. Everything was exactly where they had left it. The results were not nearly as exciting as she had predicted. It was almost as if Tharja had not done anything at all.

"Is that it?"

"That's all for now," Tharja confirmed. "I made sure that the results will not kick in until later tonight. That way, Robin should be able to sleep through the process along with whatever initial side effects that would normally spawn from trying to completely change someone's personality. All we can do now is wait."

While waiting would be the ideal approach as Rhajat was rather tired from having to slaughter a goat and decorating the cellar with its blood, but the two of them knew there was still one thing left to do.

Clean up the goat's blood.

* * *

Ghiaccio leaned towards an odd device. Everything Heinrich had brought to the property was pretty alien to Robin, but this mechanism the elf held in the palm of his hand was one of the more bizarre gadgets.

" _Testing_ ," Ghiaccio exclaimed. "Anybody there!?"

Suddenly, the device lit up with loud static that caused Robin to jump back in astonishment. He looked on to the mechanism with intense interest, wondering just what it's purpose is and why Ghiaccio felt the need to speak to it.

Then the impossible happened, or at least, what Robin assumed to be the impossible. A voice pierced the static coming from the device and responded to Ghiaccio's inquiry.

" _Gio? Is that_ _Gio I'm hearing_ _? Sounds like Heinrich made record time._ "

" _Hmm_ ," Ghiaccio hummed aloud, looking toward the canopy in contemplation. "That sounds like… _Alfarr?_ Is that you, man? It's hard to tell with all this interference. One would think you goons would have gotten a couple of those newer models."

" _Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it_ ," the voice argued. " _Or replace it in this case. Anyway, what's the plan? Are we going to do this or what?_ "

"Slow down for a sec," Ghiaccio pleaded. "What are we doing? Heinrich stopped by and said there was someone at the river who was a friend of mine. Is that true?"

Ghiaccio could hear Alfarr's voice, but the static suddenly grew louder, making it impossible to determine what was being said. Heinrich slammed his fist down on his own equipment as if physical violence would help the situation, but this method did not fix much of anything.

"Damn this thing," the elf exclaimed. "Al, can you hear us!? You still there!?"

"Told you these radios are complete pieces of shit," Ghiaccio informed with a giggle. He began slithering around, curiously inspecting Heinrich's vehicle.

"Why didn't you just bring her here and not bother with these awful radios?"

Heinrich sighed at the radio silence. Ghiaccio found it more entertaining than irritating. As Heinrich went to turn the device off before the static could drive him insane, Ghiaccio giggled at his frustration.

"Why are you coming here just to bother me with this trash radio? Couldn't you have just brought the woman you've been telling me about? We could've done an actual interrogation."

The elf pointed at Robin as if it were all his fault that this inconvenience had taken place.

He looked around to see if he could locate what Heinrich was pointing at only until Robin figured out that he was the only possible option. He silently tilted his head at the elf, puzzled by this accusation.

"I was going to have to come down here regardless. I also knew you had some weird buddies, but I didn't know how many so I wanted to conserve as much space as possible. On top of that, we literally just got word yesterday about two troops that didn't tie their prisoner down properly and the bitch apparently escaped, killing both of them in the process. I don't need to remind you that we aren't tasked with rounding people up so we don't have any proper restraints and I damn sure don't trust this stranger to ride with us after that story! Just come with me and you can meet her in person. Either that, or we'll just shoot her. It's up to you, Gio."

Ghiaccio turned to Robin with a sly smile. Clearly, the decision had already been made.

"Go and get the others," Ghiaccio requested. "We'll be heading out shortly."

Robin marched off to do as asked without question. Ghiaccio grinned at the sight of such straightforward cooperation. How he wished everyone was so easily ordered around.

* * *

After the remaining residents of the manor were all brought before Ghiaccio, the serpent smiled triumphantly at his little team.

Both Rhajat and Tharja looked incredibly disinterested. The duo probably would have appreciated nothing more than to return to their work underground, but Ghiaccio was not exactly interested in their desires.

"Alright! Now, listen up, people," Ghiaccio cheered energetically. "We're going back across the river. Fortunately, this time we don't have to walk there. Apparently, someone, I've never met before want's to help me out with a certain problem I've been having. We'll see about that, though. I'm not exactly holding my breath in anticipation."

Tharja and Rhajat glanced at each other, wondering who would be the one to ask the question that was on both of their minds. Tharja eventually spoke up to address this mutual inquiry.

"Do we have to go?"

"Well, duh," Ghiaccio snapped. "Nobody expects you to sit around in the cellar casting creepy spells all day! You'll be coming with us. Besides, I figured a stalker like you wouldn't think twice about letting Robin out of your sight for more than a couple minutes."

"Don't tell me how to do my job, snake."

"Whatever! I'm not going to sit here and argue with you," Ghiaccio exclaimed. "We're leaving now. Go ahead and grab anything you might need, but hurry the fuck up! If the person who's trying to contact me is legit then I damn sure don't want to miss this opportunity to shut down a potential threat! So cross your fingers because we just might have a chance to put that bitch, Lyn, in the ground once and for all!"

* * *

 _Note: I was initially planning to include the actual meeting with Anna in this chapter, but it was already going longer than I had anticipated so I decided to use this as a stopping point._


	18. Small-Time Blitzkrieg

_Note: Awhile back, I talked about doing a couple prologue chapters. It never happened, but since then, I have wanted to at least write something taking place in those months leading up to the first chapter of Jade. A short 5 to 10 chapter side story that I would publish separately at some point in the near future. Perhaps after I've finished this current plot point.  
_

 _That NieR:Automata reference in the last chapter kind of gives the ending away, but it would be an independent prologue after all. There's only so much that can be done with a story that takes place before a larger work. Of course, as I mentioned in the past, there is plenty of cut content that is deserving the same treatment, but the NieR crossover idea I've been planning recently is the only one with a tie-in at the moment._

 _Keep in mind that this will follow the same format that I've given to Xibalba. A completely independent story that features the same setting. Let me know if anyone is actually interested in this project and I'll be sure to give updates on its status._

* * *

 **Small-Time Blitzkrieg**

Tharja, Robin, and Rhajat all stumbled out of Heinrich's vehicle in disorientation. Robin did a better job of hiding it, but his other two allies were staggering to get out of this alien machine.

Horses could not exactly compare to this new form of mechanized transportation. They watched in awe the whole way as the elf controlled such a complicated machine with ease. It almost appeared effortless to them.

The group was immediately by Heinrich's team. They gathered around their superior. Even Yvo was a member of this crowd, a sight that pleased Ghiaccio greatly. Alfarr kept his sidearm pointed in who Ghiaccio presumed to be Anna.

Robin and his companions said nothing despite the fact that they all recognized Anna as soon as their eyes met. He was suspicious about the description Ghiaccio's friend

"Hey," Anna greeted with a friendly smile. "Robin! Tharja! Nice to see you guys here. Looking for a discount?"

"What, you know this chick," asked Ghiaccio, baffled by the mere notion.

"She fought in Chrom's Legion for a time," Robin informed. "That aside, I'm curious about what you're doing here and how you knew to contact Ghiaccio. Care to explain since we came all this way?"

Anna nodded. She seemed quite proud of the fact that she was able put this whole thing together. Eager to inform them of her plan, she cut the greetings short and went straight to the point.

"I found Lyn. From what I hear, you and she don't seem to get along so well, do you?"

"How'd you know that? Who are you," asked Ghiaccio.

The merchant smiled pleasantly at the serpent's barrage of questions. "As you already heard, I know Robin quite well. I woke up in this forest with no memory of how I got here or where anyone else was. I stopped caring about that when I saw all of the unique stuff around here. People back home would pay a fortune for some of this stuff..."

"We know you want money," Robin interjected. "Just keep to the information that isn't obvious, please."

Anna sighed crankily. Talking about profit was her favorite thing to do aside from actually making it, after all.

" _Fine!_ Anyway, I stumbled upon your mansion and realized that you two were working together. I also learned pretty quickly that Lucina wasn't too fond of that. By the way, Lucina is still alive."

"What," Ghiaccio shouted. "That cunt better be dead! She's blind! How can a blind woman even have a hope of surviving in the forest!?"

"Your venom failed to completely blind her," Anna informed, almost mocking him with her smile. "Fortunately, you had me to ensure she was captured by some these elves here."

"Well, thanks," Ghiaccio replied in an uneasy tone. "If what you're saying is true, that is. Got any proof?"

Anna shook her head in denial. Her smile never faded and those wide crimson eyes never brook contact with Ghiaccio. "No sir," she replied calmly. "However, I do have something. A plan for you to kill Anna. I've been running up and down this river just to keep track of her and now that she's close enough to this location, I've got a plan on how to deal with her. Of course, as Robin hinted at a few seconds ago, I'm not doing this for free, but we can talk about that after you've received your corpse. Still interested?"

Ghiaccio definitely liked what he was hearing so long as it was not a lie. Hesitantly, he nodded his head. Currently, his only interest was ensuring she would not be a problem in the future. He would gladly pay in full to see her head roll, or better yet, be the one to hack it off.

* * *

Another hour passed and the Shepherds still received no word from Anna. The group had fallen silent when Chrom resorted to ignoring their pleas to reconsider this mission he agreed to help Anna with. Nothing seemed right to them, but Chrom still held onto the faith that Anna would lead him to his daughter.

He kept his eyes on the opposite bank, but he still never caught a glimpse of her. Eventually, he noticed some rustling in the brush. Shortly after, a woman stepped into view. To his surprise, it was not Anna. He recognized her long dark hair and black clothing. The only question he had on his mind at the moment was, _why is Tharja here?_

She placed her hands on her mouth to amplify her words as she called out to the other side of the river. " _Chrom_ ," she exclaimed over the sound of running water.

Chrom immediately stood up with a confused look on his face. "Tharja," he responded. "Where did you come from!? Where's Anna!?"

"Follow me if you want to save Lucina," Tharja loudly replied, completely ignoring his questions. "We're moving out now!"

That alone was enough to make Chrom a bit nervous about going forward with this little plan. He said nothing to his suspicious comrades. In the end, he merely went along with it.

* * *

Time was growing short for Lyn without her even realizing it. She led the way in silence. They walked along the side of a hill with the river to their left and the eastern horizon ahead of them. They were literally walking right into Ghiaccio's little trap.

Lon'qu kept his eyes locked on the back of Lyn's head. There was something oddly familiar about a woman walking with him along a river. A memory he could not quite grasp anymore. Something he knew was incredibly important, but thanks to the forest, he was robbed of the right to recollect.

"Have I met you before," Lon'qu finally inquired, stopping in his tracks as soon as those words left his lips. The two Khans were forced to come to a stop as well, lest they run straight into their subordinate.

Realizing that she was the only one moving forward, Lyn stopped walking and turned to face him with a puzzled visage.

"Huh? You mean at the village. That's the first time I've met you."

"Something's familiar about you, though," Lon'qu insisted. Normally he had a hard time speaking directly to Lyn, especially when she was making eye contact with him, but now there was something to distract him from his little phobia.

"I know I've never met you before but something here seems familiar is all."

"Don't let it get to you," Lyn advised. "The forest steals all of our memories whether meaningful or not. Just do what I do and try to focus on making new ones. You may never fully recall everything about your past anyway."

Lyn was on the verge of attempting to reassure him after her rather depressing advice. However, Lon'qu's eyes suddenly darted to the left and he immediately went for his sword.

"Identify yourself," he demanded in a harsh tone.

For a split second, Lyn thought he had gone mad until it dawned on her to simply turn around. She did so, only to be met with the exact same sight that caused Lon'qu to become so defensive. Leaning against a tree below their current position was one of the same elven soldiers she had constantly tried to keep everyone away from. She had not even noticed him sneaking up behind that tree.

The soldier grinned widely as soon as Lyn noticed him. His crooked smile then parted as he spoke in a calm and relaxed tone.

"You Lyn? I'm sure you've heard about me plenty of times before. My name's Yvo."

Lyn instantly recognized the name. She remembered a certain talking snake mentioning it all the time. Now she knew exactly what was happening. She searched her surroundings, and surely enough, she found precisely what she was expecting to see. A squadron of elves all sneaking up the hill, slowly but surely, advancing on her position.

This was the last thing she had expected. Being ambushed by one of Ghiaccio's friends could only mean one person was behind this attack.

By now, Basilio and Flavia had noticed the current situation. As soon as they became aware of this attack, they drew their weapons.

"You there, with the long ears," Basilio demanded. "Was it you who tortured and humiliated my men? Were you the monster who stripped them of their masculinity and strung them up to rot!?"

"Sound's like something I'd do, but I can't say that's the case," Yvo giggled. "Sorry man, you best talk to the recon guys who normally do all the patrolling. I often hear they like to do weird shit to their prisoners. I'll tell ya right now, mister, since I can probably guess what happened. I didn't need to be there to know getting their dicks chopped off wasn't the worst they experienced before death. Trust me."

Yvo turned his attention from the now enraged Basilio and back over to the woman of real importance. He held up a stick with a cylinder shaped head. At the bottom of this object was a string that Yvo was in the process of wrapping his fingers around. His smile grew as he began to tug on the string.

"Special delivery from an old friend of yours," Yvo called out just before pulling the string. He then lifted his arm up high in the air in preparation to throw the stick in her direction. "Oh, and forgive me but we have a strict no return policy!"

With that said, the stick left Yvo's grasp and flew towards her. She moved as quickly as she could, immediately recognizing the weapon Yvo had just deployed. As the elf retreated back into cover, Lyn knew she had to do the same.

She screamed as she bolted up the hill, mentally praying the others would be able to get out of range in time. " _Run!_ "

Instinctively, the others followed her. They had no idea what was being thrown at them, but given Lyn's reaction, it could not have been good.

Not but half a second later and an explosion erupted behind them. It was not the explosion itself which did the damage but from the shrapnel being launched in all directions.

Because Flavia was the last to flee, she was the one unfortunate enough to be hit by some of these heated shards of metal. Three of them tore through her armor. They nestled deep into her back and just like that, she could run no more. She fell face first into the ground and could do nothing more than cry out in agony.

Hardly a minute had passed and one of them was already wounded. As Lyn turned back to see Flavia on the ground, she knew there was no hope of keeping everyone alive.

* * *

At the bottom of the hill, Heinrich had his team line up against the nearby trees. He decided to watch things develop for awhile. He saw the explosion and smiled when he saw one of these potential hostiles go down.

"Good work, Yvo," he murmured.

The elf turned to his left and pointed at the soldier next to him. "Hans," he ordered and pointed to the nearest tree. "Climb that tree and keep 'em pinned down. Everyone else, open fire as soon as you see Hans reload. Watch out for Gio and his friends. I think they're already advancing so don't go shooting them by mistake!"

Everyone did as ordered. Hans took to the tree while Heinrich, Alfarr, and their fellow squad mate, Emest went ahead and began firing their rifles while they waited for Hans to take up his position.

By the time they opened fire, the people on the hill managed to get behind a few trees but they kept on shooting none the less.

Lissa was the first of the Shepherds to come running out of the brush. She looked on ahead to see that these long-eared soldiers had already engaged. She was forced to cover her ears with all of the explosive gunfire going on around her.

" _Stop_ ," she meekly cried, completely unable to drown out the sound of these ear-destroying explosions. " _Please stop! Whatever those things are, make them stop! We can't kill her, remember! We need that information! We have to find my niece! Please listen!_ "

"Lissa," her brother's voice sounded off from behind. She turned to see that Chrom and the other Shepherds had caught up with her. They all kept their heads down and their hands over their ears just like she was currently doing.

"What's going on," shouted Chrom. "I thought we were here to help capture this 'Lyn' person! What are those weapons they're using!?"

"They won't listen," Lissa exclaimed. "I have no idea what's happening! _What's happening!?_ "

Virion leaned forward and tapped Chrom on the shoulder. It was the best method he could think of in such a chaotic time. Despite these repeated explosive sounds caused by weapons he had never seen before, he knew that at least one person should try to remain calm.

He only asked one question. A question Chrom had not even thought about until it was asked. Somehow, through all of the gunfire, Chrom managed to hear the archer speak all too well.

"Sir, where did Tharja run off to?"

* * *

Lyn and Lon'qu managed to get behind the same massive tree. It was the only thing able to protect them from the bullets flying in all directions. Lon'qu did not have a hope of figuring out what was even going on, but Lyn seemed to know exactly what to do.

She pointed to the top of the hill. It was not very far at all now and it appeared to be the only hope they had of surviving.

"Lon, listen to me and listen closely," she screamed, ensuring her voice could be heard over the torrents of gunfire and bullets pounding the bark behind them. "We're getting over that hill! This tree is tall enough to keep us covered on the way! Don't look back! Don't even think about looking back! Move in a straight line and stop only when you can't hear their weapons firing anymore!"

Right when Lon'qu was about to make a break for it, Lyn stopped him. She blocked his path with her arm, signaling him to move no further. A move that contradicted everything she had previously said.

"Hold on! Just in case, wait for the machine gunner to reload!"

Of course, Lon'qu had no idea what a 'machine gunner' was but he decided to follow her tips. Suddenly, the rate of these explosives sounds stopped for a split second before they picked back up at much slower pace. It was then when Lyn finally moved her arm out of his way.

He did exactly as told and ran for dear life. With him almost halfway to safety, Lyn could now focus on getting Basilio to do the same. She knew Flavia was still alive further down the hill, but she also knew it was an impossible task to try and get her.

She looked towards the tree on her right and waved to gain Basilio's attention.

"You next! Do exactly what Lon did! Go in a straight line and don't look back! Get over that hill at all costs! Do it while the machine gunner is still reloading!"

Lyn knew full well that Basilio heard her. He even looked towards Lon'qu right as he passed over the hill, but he turned his attention back to the line of elves below them. He looked to Flavia who was still lying motionless on the ground and presumed her dead. What point could there possibly be now in retreating?

Upon seeing that, he felt compelled to do the opposite. Regardless of the gunfire, Basilio stood up and ran out from behind cover. He managed to take a few steps down the hill but before he could so much as build up the speed to run straight at them, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Possibly one of the worst pains he had felt in his life.

A small piece of warm metal entered his right lung and broke through his rib cage as if his bones were made of glass. He staggered backward as he drew his final breath. He managed to catch a glimpse of the person who did him in right when his back hit the same tree that kept him alive for so long.

Ironically, that bullet did not come from one of the elves firing up at them. Basilio's fading gaze met head on with Yvo's quirky smile. He kept his sidearm aimed directly at Basilio from across the hill. He had been hidden behind that same tree this whole time and was merely waiting for someone to slip up.

Basilio let out a hiss as he tried to take in air. He released his ax. It would not exactly do him much good while he was so close to death's door anyway.

He fell into a sitting position with only the tree behind him to support his back. Basilio could only watch as his blood stained the grass. Bullets flew past him, slicing through the air as they went. He could hear the echoing sound of a lone elf barking out orders to his comrades in the distance. In those final moments, he could feel nothing but grief and shame for not being able to so much as kill one of them after all the damage they caused in such a short time.

While he could not speak it, he looked to the canopy, only wishing he could at least see the sky one last time. He passed on in the middle of a prayer to the gods. A prayer to be guided from this leafy hell. A prayer that would ultimately go unanswered.

* * *

Robin and Ghiaccio watched it all happen from a safe distance. They sat on the ground behind the same tree as Yvo. Robin could not help but crack a small smile at the sight of Basilio drowning in his own blood.

In the tactician's eyes, the man was just as guilty as Lyn. Nothing more than another obstacle in Ghiaccio's path. So far, the plan he, Ghiaccio, Heinrich, and Anna setup was working extremely well.

"How about you stay dead this time," Robin quietly asked. His quiet tone would go unheard by the people next to him, but he did not really need them to hear that.

" _Excellent shot, Yvo_ ," Ghiaccio loudly complimented. He then looked down to Heinrich's formation and frowned at the sight of it. "Too bad nobody is where they fucking _need_ to be! I didn't even see that guy clear the hill until it was too late! Someone should have been in a position to spot that!"

Ghiaccio turned back to see what was going on top of the hill. To his dismay, he caught a glimpse of a woman in a familiar green dress running over the hill and out of sight. It was all they could possibly see from this vantage point. Waging an uphill battle was not exactly easy even when one side had rifles and the other had nothing but swords.

"That's her," he hissed. "You're dead, Lyn! You hear me!? _You're so fucking dead when we catch you!_ "

He quickly turned to his elven friend. The snake had that same cold and determined look in his eyes. An expression that Yvo had not seen on Ghiaccio in a long time. He smiled at the sight of it, or perhaps he was still a bit excited from getting a confirmed kill. A little treat he was not anticipating.

"Yvo! Tell Heinrich to cease the firing. I just saw her retreat back behind the hill. Robin and I will take care of this from here. We got Tharja and Rhajat who should be able to cut her off on the other side. Tell them to advance to the top of the hill but they better not dare fire a single bullet while we're in the way."

"You got it, bud," Yvo cheered before skipping merrily down the hill.

With that out of the way, all the duo could do now was wait for the firing to stop. Robin was already preparing himself to bolt as soon as he heard the first hints of silence.

Ghiaccio could barely contain his excitement. He wanted to ask Robin to chase after her in that very instant, but he knew what a terrible idea that was.

"We're almost done here," Ghiaccio reassured in a prideful tone. "Once she's dead and buried, we can focus on getting to the Faceless City. We'll find it when we get there Robin. We'll find what we've been searching for and there won't be a God in heaven who can keep us from getting it. You've done a lot for me in the past few months. More than anyone else. I plan to pay you back for your trouble in the very near future, friend. And that's a promise!"


	19. Frostbite

**Frostbite**

Lyn caught up with Lon'qu after they reached the base of the hill. They were headed straight for the darkness of the forest. Lyn had not exactly informed him of the casualties experienced on the other side of the hill. She would save the tragic news for later.

The firing had stopped by now. Lon'qu tried to stop so that he may assess the situation, but Lyn pushed him forward. She knew Ghiaccio's friends were charging the hill right about now. All she could do now was pick up the pace and pray they do not get shot in the back on the way to safety.

Unfortunately, their escape would not be achieved so easily. Lon'qu stopped right in front of her and for no logical reason. Lyn did not bother breaking her stride. She ran forward with the full intent of pushing him forward, but just as her body was about to collide right into his back, she noticed the same thing that had most likely caused him to stop running.

Two nearly identical women dressed in elaborate black outfits were blocking their path. They each had a twisted grin plastered on their faces as they stared coldly at Lyn, completely ignoring Lon'qu with their cruel gaze.

"I would refrain from going any further if I were you," the woman on the right advised. As she spoke, she hugged her tome tightly as if it were a stuffed animal. "Stand still and death will be delivered painlessly. I think."

"I take it you're Gio's new friends," asked Lyn.

The two women glinted at each other, grimacing at her assumption. " _Not exactly_ ," they spoke in near perfect unison.

Up until now, Lon'qu had a bit trouble recognizing the woman to the right. His memories of her were hazy but he was eventually able to associate a name with that grim face.

"Tharja," he announced. "What's the meaning of this? Are you behind this attack?"

Lyn glanced at him in confusion. She was already fully expecting to meet Ghiaccio's new cronies. Lon'qu personally knowing a couple of them was not something that had even crossed her mind. Suddenly, she felt a sense of déjà vu come over her. It was the same situation she was trapped in five years ago when a few of her comrades had brought Ghiaccio back to the abandoned village that she had called home for so long.

"If by _behind_ , you mean the mastermind, then no. I'm merely a participant on this crusade to kill your friend here. Stand aside and it will be over in no time."

Lon'qu reached for the sword at his waist. He kept his eyes on her hands at all times to ensure she was not working on some vile hex.

"Why," he inquired further, a question that was more than obvious to just about everyone around him. "She's done nothing? What business do you have with her?"

"It isn't my business," Tharja nonchalantly informed. She then bobbed her head, silently gesturing for him to turn around. "It's _their_ business."

At this point, Lyn already knew who she was gesturing to. She and Lon'qu slowly turned to face their pursuers. Strolling casually down that steep hill was a young man no older than Tharja or her look-alike. He had an all too serious expression on his face. Wrapped around his neck was a rattlesnake with shining blue scales and a pair of matching eyes. Upon being noticed, Ghiaccio smiled at her fondly.

Lyn drew her sword upon seeing them approach. Lon'qu, on the other hand, was far too distracted by that familiar head of white hair to bother taking up a defensive position.

"Robin," he exclaimed in surprise. "What's going on around here?"

His mind was racing with questions. Most of these inquiries were in regards to the forest and his lack of memory. Part of him was glad to see Robin, but another part of him was deeply worried. That serpent was the most peculiar of these sights. He still could not believe it. A talking serpent. Lyn may not have been completely insane after all. Of course, he would only stop denying this fact when that snake actually said a thing or two, and speak he did.

Ghiaccio could barely contain his excitement. Soon enough, Lyn would be dead and he would make sure to be the one to take her life.

His lips parted as he stretched out his long forked tongue to take in her familiar odor. He giggled as he greeted her. "Hey, Lyn! Long time no see."

* * *

The Shepherds rushed up the hill alongside Heinrich's men, although, they were doing it for a totally different reason. While the elves headed straight for the top, Chrom led his team to aid the two fallen combatants.

He knew one of them was still alive. She was just barely managing to drag herself over to the location of the man further up the hill.

Vaike was the first to recognize them. Unfortunately, though, by the time he was able to inform Chrom about who was accompanying Lyn, it was far too late. Flavia and Basilio were both down long before he even had a chance to get a good look at them.

Once they cleared a little more distance, Lissa picked up the pace, readying her staff and braced herself for the grieves wounds she would eventually have to mend. Kellam tried to keep up with the others. He kept his eyes locked on the large space in between his fellow comrades and the strange soldiers Anna had employed to aid in this surprise attack. He could only hope that his armor was enough to provide protection from these odd weapons in the event that these elves were to turn them against the Shepherds.

Lissa hit the ground and slid over to Flavia in one fluid motion. While the shrapnel in her back did not look particularly pleasant, it was at least manageable. When she looked towards Basilio, the first thing she saw was the small but fatal hole in his chest. He was dead on arrival and she was no necromancer.

Flavia looked as if she had yet to even noticed that help had come her way. She was far too focused on crawling over to Basilio. Judging by her words, she appeared to be completely lost in denial.

"Get up, oaf! Get up! Don't just sit there! If you don't stand up, I'll give you a reason to sit there and bleed out!"

Chrom did nothing but stare down at her. He thought back to all of the complaints and resistance his fellow Shepherds threw his way up until this point. Suddenly, these arguments were sounding a lot less paranoid. Unfortunately, all it took to reach that conclusion was the undeniable evidence that could only be procured after the damage of ignorance had already been done.

"What are we going to do, sir," Frederick inquired from somewhere behind him. "Who's to say our only lead on finding Lucina will not meet the same fate if we do not act quickly?"

"How are we supposed to act," asked Chrom. His tone of hopelessness instantly crushed what little morale his friends were still holding onto. "Have you seen the weapons they're using? How can we stop them? I made a mistake. I made a terrible mistake. This shouldn't have happened. It should never have come to this."

* * *

Lyn charged forth and swung her blade in Robin's direction. She heard the sound of metal clashing against metal long before she ever realized that Robin and drawn a blade of his own. Her sword was caught in the teeth of this zigzagged sword. It was definitely one of the more bizarre weapons she had seen in her time and Lyndis shuttered at the thought of being run through with it.

For the first time in half a decade, her eyes met Ghiaccio's. She recognized him the moment she caught a glimpse of him. His body was wrapped around Robin's neck and his rattle was held high in the air, producing an all too familiar sound.

"Why so hasty," the snake said with a devious smile. "What's been going on? We haven't talked in awhile."

He noticed her frown twisting into a wrathful glare. Such a reaction is exactly what he was looking for.

"You still mad at me, Lyn?"

That teasing voice was enough to drive Lyn crazy. She wanted to reach forward and rip out the serpent's spine, but that was not a very viable option given the speedy reaction time of her opponents.

Ghiaccio tilted his head, his smile grew wider at her silence. "Got nothing to say? Come on, don't be like that! Tell me how you've been. What's everybody been up to this whole time? _Oh, wait._ I killed them, that's right. My bad."

In a haze of rage, Lyndis pulled her sword back only to swing it in Ghiaccio's direction. Once again, Robin blocked it with ease. She shot a glare at him, but this did not intimidate him in the least.

" _Ew!_ Someone's got a temper," Ghiaccio giggled.

Lyndis leaped backward, clearing a bit of distance between herself and Robin. She examined the lifeless look in his eyes and immediately thought of someone who was once in a very similar position.

"So, you're Ghiaccio's new pair of legs," asked Lyn. "I guess it would be a waste of breath to try and reason with you. He's gotten into your head, hasn't he? Just like Eliwood"

"Hey, I remember that guy," Ghiaccio cheered at the sound of such a familiar name. "Yes. He was the moron who slit his own throat after that big fight by the lake unfolded. Man, that brings back memories."

Lyn had nothing else to say to Ghiaccio. She charged in once more and Robin prepared himself for another attack. When their swords met again, Robin abruptly moved his hands upward and bashed the handle of his weapon against Lyn's face. She gasped and stumbled backward. In that moment, as she and Robin both instinctively swung their swords at each other, Ghiaccio lunged forward and attempted to strike Lyn during this brief opening. She was able to dodge it, and Ghiaccio was quick enough to pull himself back before he ended up being beheaded by the clashing blades.

This went on for a couple seconds. Robin would strike at her from different angles and Lyn was forced to remain on the defensive, blocking each swing with her sword while simultaneously dodging every time Ghiaccio decided to attack her himself. The snake was surprisingly quick. Able to strike from every direction. She could do nothing but watch him as there was no way of telling where he would attempt to attack her next.

Finally, she found an opening and thought of a means of turning the tide. When Robin pulled his sword back before preparing another swing, Lyn drove her left leg forward and into his knees and swept him off of his feet. Lyn acted quickly, knowing this would probably be her only chance to end this quickly. She lifted her sword high in the air and prepared to finish off both Robin and the snake in one last swing of her blade. However, at the last second, something unexpected happened.

Robin abruptly aimed his left hand in her direction. He made no efforts to stop his fall. Instead, he charged up what appeared to be some sort of offensive spell. Magic was the last thing she expected to see from someone who was already so skilled with a sword. In a split second, an arch of amber light shot out of the tips of his fingers and crashed against Lyn's torso, sending the girl flying back into a nearby tree.

The last thing she was expecting was an expert sword wielder who could employ powerful spells on a whim. It was typical of Ghiaccio to choose the very best to act as his own personal bodyguard.

She slowly picked herself up. Lyn prepared to charge right back into the fray when Lon'qu jumped in between herself and Ghiaccio.

"Enough," he exclaimed. "Robin. Explain all of this. What's going on here?"

Lon'qu had no idea about what he should ask first and ended up settling for more general questions. Seeing Robin standing before him along with that talking snake coiled around his throat was enough of a shock.

His hesitation eventually led to Lyn being the one to advance first. She knocked him out of the way, before charging Robin.

"Stay out of it," she ordered as she ran forward.

Ghiaccio grinned at the sight of her running into combat without even a hint of planning. " _Alright, bitch. Come on_ ," he hissed under his breath.

As Lyn prepared her sword for another swing when Robin threw a ball of thunder at her. She ducked down and vaulted to the right where she instantly resumed her assault. Her blade was swiftly caught within the jagged frame of Robin's Levin Sword.

He pinned her weapon down and pointed his left index finger directly at her head. She knew it would be impossible to survive another one of his unforgiving magical attacks. In a last ditch effort, she abandoned her sword, unable to liberate it from the ground. She swiftly dashed out of the way right before Robin discharged another bolt of energy which left a small crater in the dirt.

"Goddammit," Ghiaccio shrieked in anger. "Stay still you fucking whore!"

This time, it was Robin to charge forth. He left her sword behind, ensuring that she would be forced to go through him in order to reclaim it. Lyn acted quickly lest her head be sliced off. She picked up a nearby rock with the full intent of fighting back with it.

She had no choice but to dodge Robin's offensive moves. She managed to strike him a few times with that rock, but it was not going to stop him. Lyn steadily worked her way around Robin. It was surprisingly easy to do, almost as if he was letting it happen on purpose.

Lyn promptly bolted for her sword once the path was clear. Robin did not bother chasing her. An act that infuriated Ghiaccio.

"What the hell are you doing, Rob!? Kill her!"

As soon as Lyn stopped running. The very moment she went to pick up her sword, Robin finally decided to act. He lifted his dominant hand high in the air. In that instant, a swirling mass of icy wind accumulated around Lyn from out of nowhere.

It came in a sudden gust that attacked her from all sides. A small tornado formed around her, freezing the humid air around her. It only lasted for a few seconds, but that was more than enough to bring her to her knees. She fell to the ground as it cleared, shivering violently and unable to move.

Ghiaccio was amazed by what he had seen. Despite not being able to perform it himself, he knew exactly how such a drastic shift in weather could be conjured at will. Seeing it actually put to use, however, was truly an amazing sight, especially given the current victim of such a spell. That fact alone made it all the more enjoyable.

The serpent laughed aloud at the sight of her freezing body. She lied their helpless and in utter defeat. He could not stop himself from cackling at her humiliation.

"I would say that was cold, but I'd like to avoid the shitty pun if at all possible," Ghiaccio announced with sadistic glee. "How does that feel Lyn!? That's just a taste of the eternal cold which will envelop you upon death. Enjoy what little warmth you have left. I promise it won't last too much longer."

At this point, Lon'qu was about as useful as a bump on a log. He wanted to act. He desired nothing more than to end the fight, but his body refused to move. He had no idea who to join and who to stop. He could never draw his sword against Robin, but the giggling serpent on his shoulders was living proof that everything Lyn had warned him against was true. Ghiaccio had even openly admitted to killing her friends, just as she had claimed.

Lon'qu glanced up to the top of the hill. The elves had all lined up and now looked down on him with their bizarre weapons aimed directly at him. Tharja and Rhajat seemed all too eager to find an excuse to kill him as well. Even if he wanted to move, at this rate, he would be killed off before he even thought about taking a single step forward.

Robin relaxed his stance. There was clearly no reason to continue holding his stance when the fight was already over. He turned away from his defeated opponent and let out a long sigh.

He walked away, but his assumed victory would not last forever. He could hear her still trying to move. She was still attempting to deliver some form of resistance. This was beyond annoying.

Robin turned around only to find Lyn had managed to stand up. Her lips had been turned blue and her skin went pale white. Her teeth clattered and her entire body shivered. Hypothermia was clearly right around the corner, but she still refused to go down.

"Why don't you just lie there and freeze to death," Robin coldly questioned. "You've lost. Your friends are dead. What point do you have to keep living? Just die already."

Lyn clenched her sword tightly. It was hard to even fully wrap her fingers around her weapon at this point. She advanced on Robin slowly but surely. With every step, her bones rattled. Flakes of frost fell from her hair as she went.

"Trust me, I'll die," Lyn winced. She could see her own breath as she spoke. She knew the weather around her had ultimately remained unchanged, but the heat removed from her body could not be so easily replenished.

"But I'll be sure to take you with me, Gio!"

Her eyes were locked with the snake's as she ran forth and practically threw herself at Robin. Using all the strength she had left, she swung her sword. The attack was blocked by Robin, but he struggled a bit to keep her at bay. She still had a surprising amount of strength left.

She moved her sword around in a frenzy, trying to land a cut from every which direction and Robin was beginning to struggle more and more with his defense.

Lon'qu watched the fight as it happened. Suddenly, an idea came to him. He could think of no better time to interrupt it, but he still had to get to them. They were at least a bit closer to his position now. In one last attempt to ensure no one would see the need to take the risk of attacking him at a distance, he dropped his sword and ran towards the combatants. A plan that was surprisingly effective.

"Had they have never found you we would've left the forest long ago," Lyn explained. Her voice was sharp with rage. The only warmth she could feel was coming from the furious tears running down her cheeks. "We did nothing to you! All we did was help you with that crazy goose hunt of yours! What are you looking for, anyway!? What could be so important that you'd feel the need to kill everyone I had left in this world!?"

Ghiaccio did not answer her. He also refused to poke his head out during this stage of the fight.

Lyn was somehow able to force Robin's sword out of the way. With the way she swung her blade, he was forced to block it and with all the strength she could muster, Lyn knocked it free from his grasp. Now it was Robin's turn to cope with being disarmed.

She wasted no time. She finally saw an opening. The path to Ghiaccio was now clear. He could not pick up his sword in time nor discharge a spell. She could hack his head off and simultaneously slice Ghiaccio in half all with a single swing of her sword.

Naturally, she could not resist the opportunity. Lyn seized the moment. She was so close to victory but just when she was about to achieve it, something stopped her.

She looked down to see a hand wrapped around her wrist. She followed that hand until she saw the person it belonged to. She had almost forgotten that Lon'qu was even here. Almost.

" _D_ _ammit, Lon! What are you doing_ ," Lyn cried out. She tried to fight him off, but he would not release her. He moved in between her and Robin, and just like that, her chance to achieve revenge would be forever lost. " _I almost had him!_ "

"Enough," Lon'qu ordered. "Stop fighting! We have to…"

Lon'qu's argument was cut short when a blur of blue scales shout out from behind. In a flash, Ghiaccio had taken advantage of Lyn's immobility. He dug his fangs deep into her left eye. When the serpent retreated, her eyeball went with him.

Lon'qu froze at the sight of her empty eye socket and mutilated eyelid. That split second of silence felt like an eternity to him. When it finally ended, it all came crashing down on his shoulders. The moment Lyn's brain was able to catch up with reality and begin processing the sensation of excruciating pain, she threw herself to the ground and cried out like a dying banshee.

He slowly turned around where Ghiaccio could be seen holding her bloody eyeball in his mouth. He quickly spat the demolished organ out and smiled at the sight of such a brutal and almost poetic end to a fight.

"Man," he giggled in pride. "I've really had a thing for eyes lately. Odd."

"Are we done here," asked Robin.

Ghiaccio did not need to give him an answer for Robin to figure it out on his own. Lyn was still alive. She was freezing cold and missing one eye, but she was still alive. Ghiaccio had most certainly learned his lesson this time around. He would not rely on the forest to kill her slowly. Instead, he would do it himself and be done with her forever.

Robin picked up his sword and marched towards her. They moved past Lon'qu. While he was still dazed and confused by what happened, he abruptly advanced on Robin. Unfortunately for him, Tharja would not let it happen. A hex hit him from out of nowhere.

His muscles became so weak that he could barely move and within no time, he was on the ground, completely locked in a state of paralysis. This left Robin and Ghiaccio free to do exactly what they came here for.

Lyn backed up against a tree. It remained unclear if she even realized they were coming to finish her off. She pressed her hands against the wound on her face and wailed.

"I'm not sure what brings you people here to my woods," Ghiaccio murmured with a twisted smile on his face. "To be totally honest, I don't care. I always found a little myth created by you strangers to be slightly interesting. They say that those who die here are magically transported back to their lives before they were brought to the forest. Of course, we all know that isn't true, don't we?"

Robin aimed his sword for her stomach. Lyn did not even try to move out of the way. She simply sat there while she attempted to recover from the pain.

"Enjoy Hell," Ghiaccio continued. "Say hi to everyone for me when you get there."

Not another word was spoken. Robin shoved his sword through her body. Lyn took her final breath as his blade tore through her back and penetrated the ground underneath her.

Robin let go of his sword, leaving it stuck there in her lifeless torso.

"Now, we're done," Ghiaccio informed in a tone that was somewhat melancholic. A total contradiction to the gleeful rants he was spouting a few minutes ago.

"Good work, Robin. That's one problem out of the way."

It was a relief to finally see her dead. Robin planted his foot on Lyn's chest and slowly pulled his sword free from her corpse. He looked down to results of her failure. He felt a sense of pride wash over him now that she was gone. Once again, another obstacle in his and Ghiaccio's path was brutally demolished. An act he would do all over again if given the choice.

* * *

 _Note: This chapter featured one of the very first scenes to have ever been planned. During the earliest days of_ _Jade's_ _planning, I knew I wanted a scene featuring Ghiaccio tearing out someone's eye. I teased it a bit when Lucina was blinded, but I knew this scene still had to make it to the final version of the story._

 _During most of_ _Jade's_ _earlier iterations, this scene was to be featured at the end of the story. However, when I made the decision to move_ _Jade_ _over to_ _Fire Emblem_ _, I came up with the idea of bringing Lyn into the mix to help the reader gain a better understanding of Ghiaccio and the world as a whole. The other reason for her placement in this story was to implement this scene._

 _It took awhile, but Lyn's arc has finally been completed. With all of that out of the way, I'm going to try to focus more on Chrom's team as they haven't had much of a role in things as of yet, but that will soon change._


	20. The Trickster's Folly

**The Trickster's Folly**

The murder was witnessed by everyone. Chrom made it over the hill just in time to witness Robin pulling his sword from Lyn's lifeless corpse. The woman who he believed to be the only lead he had on finding his missing or dead daughter.

The elves cheered and laughed as soon as Ghiaccio's victory was confirmed. Lon'qu was on the ground, paralyzed from a twisted hex. The Shepherds stood with the elves on the hill, speechless and horrified. All except for Henry who was giggling like a maniac right along side Ghiaccio's darkly dressed allies.

Lon'qu stared at Robin with hatred. Were his eyes not the only thing he could move, he would have already attempted to kill both him and the snake around his neck. Tharja clearly knew this as her hex appeared to show no signs of disappearing anytime soon.

Chrom continued to stare at Lyn's frozen corpse. He looked to Frederick. His loyal knight had an equally grim expression written on his face.

"What just happened," asked Chrom.

His confusion was beginning to overwhelm him. They agreed to help Anna 'detain' this woman. Not kill her. Suddenly, Robin and his little gang showed up along with a group of heavily armed elves who combined their forces to murder her before he had time to ask a single question. His guess on why Lon'qu, Flavia, and Basilio were traveling with her was probably as good as any of his other comrades'.

"I'm afraid I do not have the answer," Frederick said with a grimace. "However, I think it's safe to assume who _does_ have the information we seek."

As he spoke, his eyes wandered back in Robin's direction. It was a fact Chrom could not deny even if he wanted to.

He took a deep breath and headed down the hill at a calm pace. After all, there was no point in running anymore. The damage had already been done and it was totally irreversible.

Robin glared at him as he approached the scene of the crime. It was becoming more apparent that the tactician was not the same friend who would have quickly lain on a spear for him like he was in the past. Of course, Chrom did not exactly need any more proof of this. That in of itself made the situation all the more difficult.

"What's going on," Chrom asked in a frail tone. "We were supposed to capture her right? She had valuable information regarding my daughter's whereabouts. That's why we pursued her, is it not?"

Ghiaccio was the one to respond to his inquiries. The snake perked up and frowned in false sorrow. "Oh no. Is that what she told you? She gave us a completely different story. We didn't even know that you guys were involved until last minute. That woman truly is a backstabbing rat. This all had to happen because of her! We'll get her for this!"

His tone was quiet as if he were trying to hide his words from any nearby interlopers. However, that was not what sparked Chrom's curiosity. It was the words themselves that he found bizarre.

"What do you mean? What's going on with Anna?"

Chrom did not bother with whispering his questions. He spoke loudly and right on queue, Anna appeared out of nowhere as she seemed to have developed a habit of doing.

"Sorry to leave you in the dark for so long, Chrom," a familiar voice chimed in.

Everyone turned in the voice's direction. Approaching from a cluster of trees to the east was a smiling young woman with vibrant crimson hair and eyes of blood red.

"But I was the one to set this whole thing up. It was hard work, but I'm so proud of what he accomplished today. It's just sad that we failed to get any information out of her. Sorry about that, sir."

Ghiaccio looked at her with an odd glare. That was most certainly not the reaction she was expecting from him of all people.

The accusation which was fated to leave his lips was far more shocking.

"So this was your plan," Ghiaccio shouted in manufactured anger. "You tricked all of us into killing your accomplice so that Chrom could never find out what truly happened to his daughter!"

Ghiaccio's words puzzled everyone outside of his little 'inner-circle'. Lon'qu was the only person who had any idea about what was going on. He knew exactly what Ghiaccio was trying to do and he could not let it happen. Then again, what exactly could he do now that he was unable to lift a muscle?

In the end, he was forced to sit and watch as Ghiaccio shifted the blame for Lyn's death on a woman who, as far as he knew, had just shown up. All of this going on right after he tore out her eye right in front of him.

The Shepherds were completely lost at this point. No one except for Chrom found Anna's appearance or story to be a total coincidence, but Ghiaccio's accusations managed to make everything even more confusing.

Virion leaned towards Cherche and whispered into her ear. Something the two had been forced to do quite often recently.

"This is becoming more convoluted by the minute. Did the snake just suggest that Anna was the one to set this whole thing up to cover her own tracks? Why? How in the name of the gods could such an action make any sense? Why would she need us to do her dirty work for her even if it was true?"

"Do you think they're both lying," Cherche whispered back.

"Not sure, milady. Although, it is undeniable that at least one of them is lying. The only question now is, _who?_ "

Anna froze in shock. She looked at Chrom, then back at Ghiaccio. It took a few seconds for her brain to fully process what just happened. Then it hit her. She was being betrayed in the very act of betrayal. It was the last thing she ever expected could happen, but in hindsight, it clearly should have been the first.

* * *

Anna had lost track of time pretty quickly after Ghiaccio made his accusation. All eyes had been on her for awhile now. No one had moved an inch. All eyes were now on her. She was completely surrounded both by Ghiaccio's allies and Chrom's alike. Both sides seemed quite upset over what transpired today. Simply disappearing into the brush was no longer an option for her either. She knew there was no other choice but to stand her ground.

She was not totally helpless. She knew the truth about Lucina's disappearance just as much as Ghiaccio did. Revealing that information could help her tremendously, but she did not use it right away. She would keep her figurative ace hidden for as long as she could.

"I'm sorry," she innocently questioned, batting her eyes as if she had done nothing wrong. "But what was that? I'm afraid I do not understand."

"Then let me spell it out for you and everyone else here," Ghiaccio retorted without a second thought. "You and Lyn worked together to get Lucina kidnapped! When daddy came looking for her, you got scared and decided to cover your tracks. In a cruel display of irony, you had us, the very people who were trying to search for her, kill off the only eyewitness to her capture! You used us to hide your betrayal! She's a traitor, Chrom! Just ask Robin! He can confirm it!"

"Truer words have never been spoken," Robin nonchalantly added. "It's just too bad we could not figure it out sooner. She worked us like puppets and now she has to pay the price."

Chrom was finally understanding the situation, now. He turned against Anna all too quickly. He pointed at her accusingly, now fully on board with the lie he was just told. This revelation was only further legitimized in his mind by all of the suspicions his comrades had voiced about Anna. They saw the conspiracy long before he did.

He gritted his teeth tightly, trying to fight back his own rage but he failed to control himself. He shouted at her as if she had already been proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"You did this!? It was you!?"

Now that she was backed into a figurative corner, Anna had no choice but to try and refocus everyone's attention on the real culprit behind all of these schemes.

Her smile faded and she quickly became agitated. Anna's tone was a lot less cheery this time around.

"Is this supposed to be some kind of joke!? It was Ghiaccio the whole time! He's the reason your daughter is gone! I saw the whole thing! He spat his venom in her face and blinded her! She went running and was kidnapped shortly after! It was all because of Ghiaccio!"

"Yes, blame me for everything," Ghiaccio laughed. "I've been kicking back at my mansion while you've been running around murdering people, but let's go with your story. It makes so much sense, after all."

Frederick could no longer hold his tongue. He had initially wanted to keep quiet with all of Ghiaccio's friends around, but Anna's 'possibly' innocent life was now on the line.

"You were not seen anywhere near that creepy manor until _after_ those strange monsters came looking for you! Would I be unreasonable to assume that you _too_ were running amok in this area at the time of Lucina's disappearance?"

Robin groaned and averted his eyes away from the knight. He rubbed his eyes as if to physically cleanse them of any visible frustration. "Frederick," he sighed dismissively. "This is no time for one of your crazed, paranoid spiels. Leave the decision making for the sane thinkers. Can you do that?"

That alone was enough to cripple Frederick's already eroding patience. His eyes went wide with rage as he shouted back at Robin.

"And _you_ have been nothing but a nuisance ever since we arrived! You've been rude and uncooperative over the course of these past few days! Why should we believe anything you or that snake have to say!?"

"I don't know, Frederick," Robin informed in a tone signifying obvious sarcasm. "I figured me keeping your frail little legion from crumbling time and time again was proof enough of the legitimacy behind my words. Honestly, what do you think I was fighting for, to begin with? It could not have been for a truer cause. Gods know the pay wasn't worth the effort it took to keep you Neanderthals from shattering like glass during even the most basic of skirmishes."

Just as Frederick was about to shout back a rebuttal, he felt Virion's hand patting him on his shoulder. The archer stepped forward, in between both he and Robin before the situation had a chance to devolve into a screaming match.

He kept that forced smile the whole time as if his calm demeanor would be enough to help quell the stress everyone else was experiencing.

"I believe we're losing track of the original point here," Virion declared. "However, before we go back to fighting and butting heads with one another, I feel it is necessary to remind everyone here that we are all in the same situation. We are lost in what can only be presumed to be another world at this point. None of us recall how we came to this place and the memories we have of our lives beyond this forest are either lost or rearranged beyond the point of recognition. The last thing we can afford now is for our group to be destroyed by infighting. We cannot go around arguing and accusing others of crimes that could easily be punishable by death."

He then turned to Robin with an almost apologetic look in his eyes. "I believe what Frederick was alluding to is that this a serious offense as I stated previously. It would be unwise and downright cruel to go pointing fingers, especially in a time like this. We need proof of these claims."

As soon as Virion had finished his speech, the fighting had resumed all over again, proving his words had little to no impact.

Anna refused to let that accusation slide. She shouted in opposition, forcing herself into an even worse position than when she started.

"Chrom! They're lying to you! Are you really that blind!? Lucina was trying to interfere with Ghiaccio's plans and that's why she went missing! I had absolutely nothing to do with it!"

"Who are you going to believe," Ghiaccio interrupted. "Her or us? I know you're a smart man, Chrom. You'll make the right decision."

"Gregor saw everything," the mercenary added. "Robin killed green-haired girl himself. She was already on the ground. Girl couldn't fight back, but Robin still killed her! Anna may be bad, but Robin worse!"

" _Robin also save caveman many times_ ," Ghiaccio retorted in a mock accent. " _Gregor and friends be nothing without Robin!_ "

Vaike suddenly noticed something that no one else apparently felt the need to mention or perhaps only he remembered it, but he recalled it vividly.

"This is making my head spin. Robin, you told us back at that fancy house of yours that you and Lucina went your separate ways. You said you didn't have a clue about where she was but now you're acting like you always knew she was kidnapped or something."

"Try not to hurt yourself when over thinking irrelevant shit," Ghiaccio snapped back.

The nagging was becoming overwhelming for Chrom. He could hardly deal with it. He was already infuriated and this was only wearing him down even more.

Despite his obvious distress, Robin decided to add his own argument into the fray with the full intent of pushing him over the edge.

"Do you think I'm lying, Chrom? After all, we've been through, together?"

Anna lashed out in a final attempt to win over the trust of the Shepherds. Unfortunately, she would only have the chance to regret her statement after she had voiced it.

"Don't listen to them! I've done nothing wrong! Robin and Ghiaccio are the reason you're sitting here arguing with me rather than going out and looking for your daughter! It's all their fault! They are the sole reason your daughter is probably being raped to death right now!"

That was more than enough to motivate Chrom for retaliation. The mental images flashing through his mind drove him insane. He fell into the pits of mania realizing that Anna was probably right, and according to Robin, it was all because of her.

He lunged at Anna, drawing his sword long before anyone had time to react. The next thing Anna knew, the cold steel of Falchion was slicing through her flesh. It left a gash along her torso. Blood exploded from her body. She screamed in pain and promptly collapsed onto her hands and knees.

The merchant clawed at the ground. She could not simply stand up and run for her life as much as she wanted to. It took all of her strength just to crawl forward, but that was not enough to ensure her safety.

" _You moron_ ," she screamed, her voice shaken with agony. She let out a pained giggle as she continued. In such a desperate time, she was willing to say just about anything so long as it prolonged her life for by even a few seconds.

"That snake is using you! We made a deal and he just doesn't want to pay me! I'm sure Lucina is dead by now and I hope you all go down with her!"

Anna had spoken her final words. She felt the tip of Falchion enter her back. The sensation of steel piercing her right lung would be the last she ever knew. The sword left her body, allowing her blood to flow freely from her two grievous wounds. She could hear a struggle going on around her. She saw Chrom trying to fight against Virion and Frederick who finally decided to step in when it was far too late to prevent her death.

"Well," Virion grumbled as he fought for control over Chrom's sword. "So much for innocent until proven guilty."

Anna's vision went dark. The last thing she saw was the turquoise sparkles radiating from nearby plants. Anna died a few feet away from the same woman she successfully conspired to murder to turn a quick profit. A profit that never wound up in her hands. Her only reward for her efforts was a shortened lifespan. Being betrayed by Robin and Ghiaccio, never even crossed her mind.

Ghiaccio and Robin were both surprised by how easy it was to fool Chrom. Only a few minutes of debating had led to him murdering Anna. The Exalt seemed to be pretty adept at solving all of their problems for them. Ghiaccio made a mental note to continue taking advantage of him whenever possible.

The two were quite proud of the destruction caused today. Neither of them truly expected their plan within a plan to work so flawlessly. Ghiaccio was fully expecting to have Heinrich mow down all of the Shepherds, but he was relieved to see such a development never occurred. They were far too useful to be murdered outright.

Ghiaccio watched Anna's body with dark intrigue. The serpent took a particular interest in the way her blood flowed downhill and mixed with the pools of red that had collected around Lyn's ice-bound corpse. He could not have created a more elaborate display of irony if he had tried.

" _Fucking poetry_ ," he boasted over his constant cackling. He only had one more thing to say on the matter before moving on to a brighter future.

* * *

 _Note: In regards to_ _Jade's_ _side story. It's still happening. My plan is to release it alongside the new chapter of_ _Xibalba_ _. Of course, when the next update for_ _Jade_ _comes around, I'll be announcing its existence here as well._


	21. Breakthrough

_Note: Well, Crocodile Tears is now out. It will cover events leading up to the point where Tharja first encounters Robin and Ghiaccio. Along the way, I'll be including a lot of cut areas and ideas from Jade. So if seeing more of Ghiaccio's ruthlessness or scraped content that never made it into Jade appeals to you, then this is your chance to see it._

* * *

 **Breakthrough**

The sight of the river was a welcome one. Lucina limped her way along the lonely banks while remaining ever watchful of her surroundings.

Anything that moved garnered her attention. At the merest hint of rustling in the brush, she would bolt to cover. Anything at all could be another potential threat.

Her condition was not exactly ideal. She could barely move her left arm without feeling a severe stinging from her burns. Her head was throbbing and the pain only got worse with each step forward.

While she was unaware of it, the swelling around her eyes had gotten worse. The only thing to hide it was her mask. Lucina felt her forehead several times only to learn that she had a fever for some reason. She was tempted to remove her mask and check her eyes for any sign of infection, but she could not build up the courage to look at herself.

Lucina's surroundings were starting to look familiar again. She recognized certain trees and shape of the river that ran through the forest. Once she realized how close she was to the last place she had encountered Ghiaccio, she forced herself to come to a stop.

" _What am I doing_ ," she thought to herself. " _Why did I even bother coming back here?_ "

Before she had a chance to search her brain for an answer, she heard an odd sound coming from the tree line to her left. She immediately drew her sword and ducked down.

Lucina crept toward the nearest tree and peeked around the trunk. Once more, she was met with a horrific sight that tested her fight or flight response.

The corpse of a horse laid on the ground. She could only see the bottom half of it, as most of its body was hidden behind a row of tall bushes. Blood coated the ground around it, indicating a rather brutal death had taken place.

She did not have to search for very long to find the culprit. Looming over the corpse stood what she assumed to be a man until she took a closer look at it. This creature was at least more humanoid than the last few she had faced, but it was still obvious to Lucina that this thing was anything but human.

Straps of black leather bonds were practically infused to its pale flesh. Some of them even appeared to have been melted onto its body along with living vines and other small plants that intertwined with his flesh. It had obscenely long claws reaching upwards of to six or so inches. In its right arm, Lucina saw an intimidating cleaver that was covered in blood.

The creature had the head of a horse, or at least, that was what Lucina had assumed at first glance. Suddenly, the horse's head slid off of the monster's actual head and fell to the ground. She winced at the thought of how long it must have been wearing that decapitated head as a mask.

It had the head of a human, albeit, an incredibly deformed human. Its eyes were shrunken into its skull and its face appeared to have been severely burnt.

Lucina prepared to back away slowly. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with this abomination, but just as she was about to turn around and escape to the riverbank, she felt something give way under her right foot. What followed was a loud snapping sound.

She hissed under her breath as she looked down to the broken twig in front of her.

" _Did that 'have' to be lying right here!?_ "

The forest had shown no mercy to her as of yet and it was clearly not going to start anytime soon. When Lucina glanced over her shoulder to make sure the monster was not disturbed. She was not at all surprised to find the thing staring directly at her.

Lucina stood up and readied her sword. She charged forth without hesitation, hoping that she would be able to kill it quickly. All the while, the monster stood there staring at her, watching as she entered its range.

* * *

Long after Robin and his friends departed, the Shepherd's remained scattered along the hill. Chrom sat next to a tree while he watched passively as Frederick and Vaike attempted to get Flavia under control in order for Lissa to begin healing her.

It eventually took their efforts combined with Gregor's strength just to keep her still. She kept on screaming for the long dead Basilio to wake up regardless of what was happening around her.

Chrom tuned out her grieving cries as best as he could. Falchion was impaled into the ground in front of him. It still dripped with Anna's blood.

He occasionally looked down the hill only to see that Lon'qu was still paralyzed and mute. This did not mean Lon'qu could not communicate, however. It was fairly obvious to Chrom that Lon'qu was angry enough to kill the first living creature he could get his hands on if he were just able to move.

When Virion and Cherche approached, Chrom averted his eyes to the ground shamefully and ran his fingers through his hair. It was rare to see the archest of archers so upset, but from the glimpse Chrom got of his face, he looked positively furious. Despite his obvious frustration, he kept a cool and relaxed tone.

"Well, this is a right and proper mess now isn't it?"

Chrom did not answer him. Virion took this lack of a response as a reason to continue.

"How many more of our comrades have to die before you stop listening to everything Robin says? Every time we have the misfortune of being around him, tragedy strikes. That peasant who was eaten by maggots for no apparent reason should have been enough of a hint, but we allowed this to happen when it could have been avoided. Had you only have exercised even a small amount of caution and three lives could have been spared today."

Cherche quickly stepped up before Virion ended up getting himself into trouble. She moved in front of him and put on a pleasant smile.

"I believe what Virion is trying to say is that..."

"Do not interrupt me, it is neither the time nor the place," Virion snapped.

Cherche promptly backed off after that unexpected outburst. Caught completely off guard, she quieted down and allowed Virion to go on without further interruption.

"My point is that if we keep taking Robin's word for everything, we will all end up like Anna. I shouldn't be having this discussion with you in the first place, but alas, three people are dead and as I said previously, had you have only used a bit of common sense this all could have been avoided."

"If I may remind you," Cherche chimed in. "Ghiaccio and his friends only showed up after Anna disappeared. It could be that she was rounding up a large number of people so that it would ensure the death of that girl Lon'qu was traveling with. Perhaps she did not need us at all. Maybe we were only reinforcements to ensure that she would not be able to escape."

The archer let out a long sigh. He placed his thumb and index finger to his forehead and attempted to rub the frustrated look from his eyes. "That only proves my point, Cherche. Why was Anna so desperate to kill her. Ghiaccio claims it was all a trap, but that does not make sense to me because they were all too eager to destroy that poor woman. Nobody aside from us was even remotely disturbed to find that Basilio had been killed by accident or so the elves say. I find that especially hard to believe."

Virion pointed to Basilio's lifeless corpse. Blood still poured from the small wound in his chest. He shuttered at the sight of Basilio's blank expression and glazed eyes.

"I was thinking about what happened earlier today," Virion continued. "Finally, I believe I've reached a logical conclusion. Would you like to hear it, sire?"

Chrom's shrug was enough of an answer, although, it was not as if Virion was waiting for confirmation. He was going to offer up his opinion whether it was welcome or not.

"Anna shows up out of nowhere when our morale is at an all time low," the archer stated harshly. "She expresses a plan to subdue the woman responsible for your daughter's disappearance so that we may interrogate her. Suddenly, those sadists from across the river and Robin's little gang show up out of nowhere and the whole operation is forever lost into the pits of Hell. We lose our information and three others lose their lives. Ghiaccio convinced you to murder Anna and they all went back to their cozy little home without even bothering to say goodbye. All of this leads me to believe that Robin and Ghiaccio were using us as pawns so that they could silence that poor maiden. They used Anna all the same, probably with promises to pay her and when it came time to fulfill that end of the bargain, Ghiaccio tricked you into murdering her."

Chrom slightly perked up as an idea came to him. He could no longer deny what Virion was saying, but he still found hope in the thrall of this giant conspiracy.

"Perhaps Robin and Tharja are pawns too," he stated, only voicing his wishful thinking. "We should go back to the mansion right now and expose Ghiaccio's cruelty!"

Virion nearly cracked up at Chrom's idea. He had to think about it for a moment as he assumed at first that his ears were playing tricks on him.

"Do you even hear yourself, sire," Virion sarcastically questioned. "Robin is no pawn. He's Ghiaccio's greatest ally. When I look into that serpent's eyes, I see nothing but malice. When I look into Robin's eyes, I see that same malice doubled! Why do you feel the need to 'expose' Ghiaccio? Robin is already fully aware of the snake's brutality, partially because he's the one who carried out these ruthless wrongdoings. And as far as Tharja is concerned, well, you can forget about the idea of her joining us so long as Robin is on Ghiaccio's side. In fact, I remained convinced that she was the one who murdered that peasant before he had time to give us crucial information about your daughter's whereabouts."

The archer glinted towards Frederick. The knight was working hard on keeping the still grieving Flavia from attacking Lissa. While they struggled, Virion continued his efforts to get his points through to Chrom.

"There was one thing I disagreed with Frederick on until now," he informed in a whisper as if he were worried that the wrong ears might hear what he had to say. "I thought it was a bit paranoid to assume Robin and Ghiaccio were responsible for Lucina's disappearance but now I see it as the only true explanation. Why else would they work so hard to destroy all of our leads?"

Chrom did not argue against Virion's point. Instead, he took the opposite approach to what had got them into this position. All it took was a brief glance around the area to remind Chrom that listening to his fellow Shepherds was _probably_ a good idea.

Virion's tone became more melancholic as he spoke. "Whether you want to believe it or not, there is no denying that Robin had betrayed us."

* * *

Tharja and Rhajat peeked around the corner of the entrance hall and peered into the living room where Robin was quietly reading a book. Most of the activity in the manor was going on in the dining room behind them. Cheerful voices and laughter echoed throughout the decrepit manor. While Ghiaccio and the elves celebrated a job well done, life for the other residents of the mansion went on without interruption.

The fact that Robin had yet to go to sleep was unsettling for Tharja. She watched with great interest every time he picked up his glass of wine and took a sip. Despite the hex she placed on it, he still had not yet gone upstairs.

"Come on, pass out already," she demanded in a whisper. Tharja clawed at the walls and gritted her teeth. "I've done this before and you always fell asleep _within_ thirty minutes. It's been forty already!"

"Are you sure this is a good idea," asked Rhajat. "I can only imagine what would happen if Ghiaccio found out about this."

"I could care less about that snake," Tharja snapped coldly. "He's the one who's responsible for killing Robin's soul. I'm just reviving it. If Ghiaccio has a problem with it then he can take it up with me. The only thing I find worrying is if this hex will even work or not. If it does, then Robin will want to be asleep as the spell goes to work. I cannot imagine this being a painless process but if he's out cold, it won't matter."

The sight of Robin stretching his arms and letting out an abrupt yawn put Tharja at ease for the time being. Something caught Tharja's eye as Robin stretched his arms up into the air. She spotted a glimmering ring on his hand. While she had no idea he bothered wearing it, she decided not to linger on the thought. Soon enough, he would be a completely different person which was all she cared about at the moment.

* * *

After observing Robin's behavior, Tharja retreated back into the depths of the cellar. She had a clear vision in mind for her next hex, but that was interrupted when they abruptly had to head north to the river and deal with one of Ghiaccio's problems.

With more time to herself, she could focus on something she decided to continue working on in secret. Not even Rhajat was aware she was down here. She made sure of that.

In front of her was the wine glass Robin left behind before heading upstairs for the night. Tharja emptied out and brought it with her. It now sat in the middle of the floor with no sigils around it whatsoever. None of the usual symbols she utilized for her everyday rituals were present. Now, there was only herself, the glass, and a few manuscripts she had seized from the now deceased occupants of the manor.

Everyone else had given up on the idea of turning something into nothing, but Tharja would not be deterred so easily after her interest had been so thoroughly peaked. She read over the contents of one particular passage of the essay.

"Gravity is mentioned constantly," she told herself. Her voice echoed throughout the cellar and acted as a reminder of just how lonely she felt in this room. Not that it bothered her at all.

"The woman who wrote this paper, if correct, has implied that gravity is the reason behind an object being destroyed. Robin, you adorable fool. You misread this. They aren't referring to a disappearing act. It's a force of unrelenting gravity that tears an object down to its barest essentials, equating it to nothing when looked upon by the naked eye, but in reality, it has merely been disassembled."

She discarded the now useless pages onto the ground and stared harshly at the glass. "It's far too difficult to concentrate the surrounding forces of gravity into a single area. However, conjuring ice, fire, and thunder from seemingly nothing has been a weapon in the arsenals of mages for a long time. Who's to say gravity cannot be added to the lineup?"

And just like that, her soliloquy was over. There was nothing left to stop her from bringing this idea to fruition. She took a deep breath and cleared her thoughts. The time for research and debating with herself was over and now the experimentation phase could begin.

* * *

Hours passed and Tharja found herself quite pleased with the results. The glass had not been destroyed yet, and in that regard, she was becoming very impatient. Most of her time was spent actually conjuring gravitational forces in place of the magical norm.

There were no incantations or recommended setups for this ritual as it was completely uncharted ground. This fact inspired Tharja far more than it deterred her. Once she figured out a means of conjuring gravity, the process suddenly became much more difficult than she initially expected.

The question remained, how much was too much and how much was too little? She wanted to destroy the glass but she did not want to kill herself or bring down the entire mansion in the process.

However, she decided to throw caution to the wind after her last attempt. She almost created a sort of tornado that sucked in nearby objects but it was not enough to outright destroy the glass in its entirety. The only thing she achieved was making a mess and creating a few more cracks in the wine glass.

Her frustration and impatience got the better of her so she came back with a force far greater than she would have utilized had she been thinking clearly. She flung her arm out in front of her as if she were about to cast a spell. While normally a purple aura would accumulate around her hand, this time there was no such thing to be seen.

The results were instantaneous. The glass and other pieces of junk that now littered the ritual area suddenly shot up into the air. It happened far faster than Tharja's eyes could process what they were beholding.

The items began swirling around in a circular motion as if orbiting around a small area. Tharja had seen this countless times already and she presumed it to be the location where gravity was at its strongest.

However, within an instant, the items were completely shredded. They did not disappear but were instead twisted and ruined. They swirled around each other at an alarming rate. All the while, they were blended as if they were made of rubber and promptly torn into pieces.

Shocked by what was happening, Tharja lowered her hand, ending this summoning. As soon as she did this, those tiny bits of glass and other materials were suddenly thrown all across the room. Had Tharja not have ducked when she did, she would have been impaled by the various clusters of shrapnel that had been launched toward her.

She hit the ground and covered her head with her arms. By some miracle, she was not hit by anything. When she came too, all that was left were the pieces of decimated objects. Random junk such as books, bottles, and boxes were all utterly demolished.

Tharja considered herself lucky that she herself was not sucked into that violent vortex of gravity. She looked onto the damage she had caused with pride. It was not the same destructive power Robin had envisioned. The ability to simply erase objects was indeed the original goal of their research, but Tharja saw no reason for that anymore.

In an instant, so much destruction was caused. It was far more brutal and demoralizing than simply erasing objects or better yet, people out of existence when she could simply blend them together and tear them apart with little to no effort. It was a spell that required no prior ritual to cast and could be utilized on the spot. She could not think of a better alternative.

With a cruel smile, she thought of what it would look like if she did the same to a human being. Her laughter filled the cellar. She began thinking of all the things she could use to experiment on. From more wine glasses to cats and other animals.

After just a few hours of working and the night was already looking up for Tharja. Her worries were about the effects her last hex will have on Robin were temporarily replaced with the irresistible desire to destroy.

* * *

 _Note: If there are any fans of_ _JoJo's Bizarre Adventure_ _reading this then you've probably noticed something familiar about Tharja's newly acquired power. I had a bit of trouble figuring out what sort of devastating ability that Tharja would learn to utilize throughout the story in the same way that Robin gains a preference for conjuring ice._

 _Spoilers ahead for_ _Stardust Crusaders_ _._

 _I was inspired by one of my favorite characters in_ _JoJo_ _, Vanilla Ice. (Yes, that's his actual name.) A villain who can essentially erase objects from existence. I decided to give Tharja a similar ability that would slowly develop on-screen as opposed to Robin's presumed practice with ice off-screen. One of the earliest stages I had come up with when developing her ability was exactly what you saw in this chapter. It was only until after I had introduced Lyn to the story that I decided this was far more brutal than her end goal._

 _I even briefly considered letting Tharja demonstrate it on Lyn, but I cut that after I decided to hold off on showing the scenes featuring her experimentation._


	22. Gimp

**Gimp**

Virion left the Shepherds behind in favor of going on a calming walk along the riverbank. He had cleared a large amount of distance between them and himself and he showed no signs of turning back for now.

Unfortunately, he was not able to relax for long. Virion spotted someone in the distance. This stranger was running in his direction but they were still too far away for him to get a good look at them.

He noticed the familiar blue uniform and were it not for this person's rather long hair of the same color flowing in the breeze as they ran, he would be inclined to believe that it was Chrom. On second glance, however, he realized this person was a woman. A very familiar woman.

The archer noticed the familiar mask covering her face, her tattered clothes that resembled Ylissean royalty, the glimmering tiara on her head, and of course, the sword in her hands.

"Do my eyes deceive me," asked the archer. Virion placed his hands around his mouth and shouted at her. "Lucina!? Is that you!?"

She waved him down in response but said nothing nor did she seem to compelled to stop running. It was obvious that she was running from something, but Virion could not tell precisely what was after her.

He pulled out his bow and drew an arrow in preparation to defend himself as whatever was posing a threat to Lucina would inevitably be an enemy of his. To his surprise, Lucina noticed that his bow had been drawn and dove out of the way as if she anticipated him to attack her.

"Wait," he cried out with a gasp.

Virion had no time to inquire about her odd behavior. Before too long, that threat was upon her. The familiar monster came running out of the brush and charged her. He recognized the vines growing from its body but quickly realized it was not the same as the one he encountered at the manor but very similar none the less.

Lucina was quick to defend herself. As the creature brought its cleaver down upon her, she blocked it with her Falchion. Her timing was impeccable and so too was the arrow that pierced the creature's arm.

This came as a genuine shock to Lucina. While the monster recoiled in pain, she turned her head to see that it was indeed Virion who shot the arrow. A fact she had to see to believe. During her time in the forest, she had grown quite accustomed to being betrayed by her friends. Being assisted, on the other hand, now that was a different story.

With this second chance to preserve her life given, she leaped to her feet and shouted at him.

"Keep your distance, Virion! This thing is using some kind of medallion! I think it's enabling him to disappear on a whim! Keep your eyes focused on predictable angles that might be used as points for an ambush! If he disappears then try not to stay in one spot!"

Virion did not have to think about her warning for long. In an instant, the stranger disappeared from his sight. He frantically scanned his surroundings but the assailant was gone. He had no idea what just happened. Suddenly, Lucina's words made a lot of sense.

In response to this sudden disappearance, Lucina stood up and attempted to resume her retreat. However, as she set off, Lucina was once again forced to defend herself. This abomination of the forest appeared in the same way that it had vanished and in the exact same spot no less. Lucina barely noticed his return out of the corner of her eye as she darted towards Virion.

She spun herself around, blocking his oncoming meat cleaver with Falchion in the process. The sound of metal clashing against metal filled her ears. As she veered out of the way, she quickly prepared herself for an attack of her own. Unfortunately, her sword hit nothing but air.

Lucina saw a glimpse of the monster before it disappeared yet again. She noticed a glimmering bronze object in his left palm. Lucina was able to keep her balance after her attack failed. She averted her attention to Virion who was still standing in that same position up ahead.

"Get out of the way," she exclaimed, but it was to no avail.

By the time Virion was able to fully process what she was saying, that leather-clad monster appeared in front of him like a ghost. He used his bow to block the clever but not without having his string cut in the process which rendered his weapon useless.

Virion was unable to protect himself from a second swing. The cold steel of his enemy's weapon sliced into his arm and left a light gash in his flesh.

Before the archer could even open his eyes after flinching from the sting of being cut, he felt a hand latch onto his face. Virion was promptly hoisted into the air where the monster proceeded to throw him into the river as if he were a rag doll.

Lucina was far too late to stop this from happening. By the time she reached the monster, Virion had already been cast aside.

While the creature still had its back turned to her, Lucina threw herself forward with the intent of running it through with Falchion. She fully anticipated another failure so she kept a close eye on her opponent. She made sure to watch that odd object in its left hand as Lucina could not think of a reason why it would go out of its way to carry something insignificant when it was in the midst of a fight. As she drew closer, Lucina realized that the object was some sort of large medallion or amulet.

Surely enough, as soon as she came within range, the monster disappeared but not without moving its left thumb in front of that bronze medallion that it insisted on holding.

"Is that it," Lucina asked herself. "Is that how he keeps disappearing? Where does he go? He has to go somewhere!"

Lucina anticipated another attack from behind, and that was exactly what she got. She leaped forward and twirled around after nearly having her head hacked off.

She reacted immediately, turning herself around both to avoid the attack and also close the distance between herself and her opponent. The direct opposite of what she had tried so desperately to do before.

Whether it was lucky timing, or a reaction on behalf of the monster, Lucina's plan was successful. She grabbed hold of the monster before it could disappear on her again. She wanted to see exactly where this monster would vanish to, and surely enough, her curiosity would be sated. The creature disappeared again, only this time, accidentally taking Lucina with it.

* * *

Fear was beginning to overwhelm Lon'qu. Cherche and Lissa both loomed over him. Concerned about his paralysis they worked effortlessly to try and reverse Tharja's hex now that Flavia had been stabilized. A curse that which she, herself, gloated would last upwards of twenty hours. After only a few of those hours had passed, Lon'qu was being driven mad.

He knew he was hallucinating, but he had no idea if it was caused by Tharja's hex or if the whole world was driving him as crazy as Lyn. Lissa and Cherche were chatting to themselves and debating ways to reverse the hex. All the while, Lon'qu could not take his eyes, the functioning part of his body, off of the figure looming over them.

There was no mistaking it. Lyn's corpse was looming over him. Her body was covered in frost. Her skin had lost all complexion. Her lips were icy blue, her hair was covered with ice, and her chest remained perfectly still, signifying her lack of oxygen intake.

She stared him down with her cold vacant eye. He could see several broken veins hanging from the empty socket where Ghiaccio tore out one of her eyeballs. Blood and frost coated her face. At the core of her torso, Lon'qu could clearly see Lyn's destroyed stomach. Her intestines were just barely being held inside her body by her mutilated flesh. Blood stained her blue dress and nearly turned it red.

Lon'qu could not understand why he was seeing her when she was so obviously dead. He knew her corpse was still lying by that tree. It was a sight that only he could see as Lissa and Cherche remained completely ignorant to the woman that continued to gaze at him from beyond the grave.

He wanted to scream but his vocal cords would not function. He tried closing his eyes but every time he opened them, she would still be there, staring at him.

Lon'qu could not escape. Despite the futility of his attempts to cry out, he continued to do so. As he should have expected, all trials inevitably ended in failure. All he could do was wait and hope this haunting vision would leave him.

* * *

Lucina gasped in shock and fell to the ground. Her only working eye was flooded with an unexplained light. It was utterly blinding. Lucina hid her face in the grass while she waited for her eye to adjust to this new light.

She focused her sight on the grass. It took some time, but her vision lost its blurriness. Lucina eventually worked up the strength to look up. When she did, she froze in place. She blinked a few times as if she was not believing what she was seeing.

There was no river running through the land. No neon plants tinting the entire world with their invasive glow. Apart from a few trees here and there, all Lucina could see were rolling hills covered with vibrant green grass and wildflowers. A few dirt roads laid out over the horizons. Her ears filled with the sound of nature.

It always seemed to Lucina that every creature in the forest was far too afraid to make their presence known, but now her ears were being filled with the sounds of bullfrogs and grasshoppers.

The light was still somewhat overwhelming. Under the canopy, such light would be impossible. As much as it pained her, she had to see what was going on above her. Lucina gazed upward only to find a crystal clear blue sky overhead.

There was no canopy to shield her from the sun that shined down upon her. Clouds hovered over the world and birds soared in between them. Until that very moment, Lucina had almost completely forgotten what the sky looked like. She forgot its light blue color and the endless twinkling stars that followed the setting of the sun. The mere sight of it gave her a sense of vertigo.

"Home? Is this..."

Lucina tried to speak but she was hushed by her own awe. She soon recognized the familiar landscape of Ylisstol. It was a place that she had already abandoned all hope of ever seeing again, and now she was lying in the grass of her home country.

There were no sadist cults trying to enslave her. No monsters attempting to make a quick meal out of her. No talking snakes successfully turning her friends and family against her.

Unfortunately, this moment of true tranquility quickly came to an end. She felt a hand grab her shoulder. Sharp claws dug into her flesh and served as a bitter reminder of the torment that had yet to come her way. She had no time to run, flee, or fight back. In an instant, she was plunged back into the depths of a neon Hellscape. An alien realm that would surely show no mercy.

* * *

In shock, Lucina gazed at the river, motionless and afraid. Twisted and ugly trees towered over her, acting as the pillars to the eternal canopy that would never again allow her to see the light of day. Silence befell her once again. Just as before, there were no obnoxious insects or amphibians calling out in the distance to remind her that she was not alone.

Lucina slowly turned around. She stared at the heinous abomination that so casually loomed over her, gazing at her with an empty visage. That medallion was still twinkling in its left palm. Without even thinking, Lucina lunged at the creature in a last-ditch effort to claim what she believed to be the key to returning home.

"Give it to me," she demanded in a vile tone. "Now!"

Before her very eyes, both her prize and the monster who possessed it both disappeared. This time, she did not so much as bother to stand up. She sat there in utter defeat. Her moral was totally crushed.

She sat there waiting for the monster to return, but it never came back. It never bothered to finish the fight that she started.

Lucina ignored Virion's shouting as he splashed through the water in order to regroup with her on the bank.

In a hopeless utterance, she spoke. "Could you have at least shown me the mercy of death?"

She gazed down at Falchion and the thought came to her. Simply impaling herself on the blade was suddenly becoming appealing for Lucina. She had endured quite a bit of the forest, but seeing her home for only a split second before being torn away from it was more than enough to crush her very soul.

The thought vanished as quickly as it came. Virion successfully made his way out of the water and back onto land. Unlike Lucina, he had not yet let his guard down.

"Lucina! Are you all right!? Which way did that demon go!?"

"How should I know," the former princess questioned. Her voice was completely emotionless and apathetic. Her expression was one of despair and hopelessness. Just looking at her was enough to depress Virion.

Before he could say anything, the branches overhead began shaking. Virion looked up just in time to see a blurry figure leaping from branch to branch.

"There it goes! It's heading west," he shouted. For a second, he forgot about his damaged bow and drew an arrow from his quiver only to realize that his string was cut in half.

"Who cares," the woman whispered in defeat.

Her entire attitude changed all while Virion was attempting to reach land. He turned away from the fleeing threat and observed her sorrowful face.

"You disappeared," Virion on informed. "What could you have possibly seen after leaving the realm of visibility?"

Lucina got over her brief phase of nihilism and stood up. She sheathed her sword and gazed down the river.

"It's a beautiful day in Ylisstol, right now," Lucina murmured. "I wish you could have seen it."

* * *

Chrom eventually came by to visit Lon'qu. Hearing that all attempts to remove Tharja's hex had failed only reinforced his guilt.

He also wanted to visit with Flavia and see if he could get some information out of her now that she had calmed down a bit, but he did not risk approaching her. She laid there on the ground near Basilio's corpse and he would leave her to it for now.

In silence, the Shepherds patrolled the hill. They kept away from each other. Most were still debating to themselves if they should simply abandon the group before any more disasters occur. An idea that was first proposed and threatened by Virion. Whether or not he would even return from his walk was unknown.

Fortunately, their doubts were soon eliminated. After a couple hours, Frederick spotted Virion walking up the hill. He was surprised to see that the archer had returned, but he was even more surprised to find that he was not alone.

He had trouble recognizing the blue-clad woman behind him at first, but even with that mask hiding a good portion of her face, he quickly realized who he was looking at.

"Virion," the knight inquired in a shaken tone. "Is that?"

"Ah," Virion announced with a cocky tone. A face that completely betrayed his previous frustrations with Chrom. "Indeed! You would believe it unless I were to have brought her along as proof but my quest to relax inevitably led me straight to her. Tell me, where is Chrom. I think he should probably be made aware that his daughter is still alive and well..."

Virion abruptly cut himself off and glanced at Lucina. He examined the cuts and bruises that covered her body and quickly retracted his previous statement. "Um. She's alive at least, and I feel confident that she will be able to shed light on recent events."

A voice suddenly called out to the group from the top of the hill. Lucina followed the sound of the voice until her gaze fell upon a familiar face. She was promised a surprise by Virion as he led her here, but the last thing she expected to see was her father.

Chrom looked utterly miserable until the moment when his brain was able to process what he was seeing. He slowly stumbled forward, nearly tripping over himself as he slowly but surely approached her.

"F-Father," Lucina mumbled. She remained frozen in place. She found herself lost in the same state of disbelief as her father.

Surely this was just another means of the forest tormenting her. Any moment now, this hallucination would end. Chrom, Frederick, and Virion would all disappear and she would be left all alone. An intangible ghost was approaching her and nothing more. She held onto this belief until the very last second when it was proven to be a false assumption.

She felt Chrom embrace her tightly. In both relief and utter exhaustion, she allowed her forehead to fall onto his shoulder. She still did not want to be tricked by the forest again. Inevitably Lucina stopped denying it. If her eyes were not so damaged by Ghiaccio's venom, she would have shed a few tears to accompany her sniffling.

Despite the obvious, Lucina still felt the need to ask just to hear a response. Just to make sure this was actually real and not some abstract torment designed to punish her for sins she had no memory of committing or the sins she had yet to commit.

" _Father? Is that you?_ "


	23. Everlasting Smile

_Note: Everlasting Smile was at one point its own story. I have no recollection about this project as I had not even laid eyes on the files involved with Everlasting Smile for about two years. If I remember correctly, it was intended to be a Trigun project, but I could be mistaken. Either way, I intended to reuse the title for an FE one-shot, but we see how well that turned out._

* * *

 **Everlasting Smile**

Sand shifted beneath Tharja's feet after a light but welcome breeze swept through the dunes of Plegia. She watched passively as the Ylisseans around her roamed through the desert with miserable faces. She looked down on them all as if they were worth less than the sand that currently enveloped her feet.

Just as her mind was about to become lost in her own hatred for the strangers around her, she saw something approaching her in the distance. She recognized the dark robe he was wearing. It was black with a gold trim and covered in familiar purple sigils. She wondered if he was a fellow defector or if he had simply looted the robe at some point during the campaign.

However, it was not just the robe that caught her eye but the person wearing it. Tharja's heart stopped when his eyes met hers. It was quite obvious that she was gawking at him. His confused expression proved that to her.

As he moved closer to her, Tharja averted her eyes and shifted uneasily. She only bothered looking up again when she noticed that he was standing right in front of her.

"Oh," the stranger greeted. "You must be the newest recruit. Chrom mentioned you earlier. My name is Robin. It's nice to meet you."

"Tharja," she bluntly replied.

"Interesting name," Robin complemented with a smile. "Well, just let me know if you ever need anything. It might be kind of hard to adjust to things. I would know more than anything so don't hesitate to ask for advice."

Tharja's face was so red at this point, Robin assumed she might have experienced a light case of sunburn. Regardless of her odd appearance and awkward silence, gave her one last farewell and walked away.

Robin glanced over his shoulder just to get one last look at her. He simply could not neglect her stunning appearance. She was easily one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on, but he did not stare for too long.

It was a simple exchange. Robin would think nothing more of it, but that minor exchange of welcoming words was enough to drive Tharja insane. On that day, her obsession began and it would continue to spiral out of control until she got exactly what she wanted.

* * *

Tharja's little hobby quickly became a cycle and consumed her routine. It started out innocent enough. Tharja would often catch a glimpse of Robin walking past her and she would respond by silently admiring him.

This soon devolved into her following him for hours. She would actively seek him out for the sake of knowing what he was doing with whom, at what times, and with what intentions. She became more familiar with his routine than he probably was.

Tharja would often hide in the shadows and follow him. She was occasionally spotted by other Shepherds, but so long as it was not Robin himself who saw her then she could care less.

Once she figured out what times he regularly went to sleep was when the fun truly began.

Tharja crept towards his tent after a long day of marching across the dunes of Plegia. She knew he was still awake at this hour, but his primary focus now was normally falling to sleep. Tharja was taking a huge risk by creeping inside his tent while he was still awake, but the consequences were part of the fun for her.

Unfortunately, she was not too vigilant on him today. She had not even considered that someone else might be there with him.

As soon as she poked her head inside to survey the situation, Robin was ironically not the first person she saw. She froze at the sight of Virion sitting in front of Robin. His gaze shifted away from the board game the two were playing and directly toward her. He slightly jumped at the sight of her.

"Excuse me," he said fearfully. "Something we can help you with, madam?"

Robin immediately turned around and gave Tharja a quizzical look. "Hi, Tharja. Is something wrong?"

"Um," Tharja stuttered. She searched the empty air around her and tried her best to make up a valid excuse for why she was trying to sneak into his tent at such an hour.

"I have a message," she told Virion and then tilted her head towards Robin. "For him?"

"What message," asked Robin.

Tharja stumbled over her words, but she eventually managed to form a coherent response. "It was from, uh, _Chrom_. He wanted me to tell you to meet him in the morning for sparring practice."

Before either of them could respond, Tharja ducked outside and fled into the night. She learned her lesson none the less. She would watch him like a hawk from then on and she would never again let her guard down.

* * *

It had been a month and Tharja was still getting nowhere. Her lack of progress was mostly due to her own slow means of achieving her goals.

On that particular day, Tharja decided to use a 'less than subtle' means of delivering a message. She held a box in her arms and moved through the shadows of the village the Shepherds were currently occupying.

She evaded the attention of onlookers by taking back alleys and vacant streets until she reached the outskirts of town. Tharja knew exactly where her possession was at any time of the day. Tracking him had become all too easy for her. She scaled a large mound of sand and looked down to find Robin practicing with a few spells she rarely saw him use.

As much as she would prefer to bury herself in the sand and watch him for hours on end, she opted for a different strategy. Something more direct and noticeable.

She slid down the dune and stopped just before slamming into Robin while he still had his back turned. She was so quiet, he failed to notice that she was standing right behind him.

Tharja leaned forward and tapped Robin on the shoulder. He jumped in place and twirled around only to jump in freight again to find that Tharja had followed him all the way out here.

"Uh! What are you doing here?"

Tharja twisted her lips into a psychotic grin. As she lowered her head, her bangs shielded her eyes and the devilish intent that so obviously burned within them.

"I got tipped off about you heading west for some privacy," she nonchalantly informed. "Since you were allegedly alone out here, I thought it would be the perfect time to bring you a present."

Robin looked down to the suspicious box in her arms. She held it out for him to take. He was hesitant at first. He did not even want to know what was inside. None the less, he reached forward and took the box from her hands.

He could feel her oppressive stare baring down on him as he opened his present. The moment he saw what was inside, he panicked and threw the box into the sand.

"What was that," he asked in a fearful shout. "There was blood everywhere!"

Tharja giggled at his 'melodrama'. She always did love seeing the faces he made when he was fearing for his life.

"People say a rabbit's foot brings good luck," Tharja proclaimed. She then averted her eyes away from her beloved and frowned in disappointment. "I couldn't find a rabbit in the middle of the desert so I stole some old lady's cat and chopped its foot off. I figured it would be a nice substitute so please keep it on you at all times. Who knows, it might just save your life."

Robin was speechless, but that was absolutely fine. As far as Tharja's concern, the look on his face was all she needed from him.

In retrospect, Tharja could not honestly claim she had some sort of master plan to get what she wanted. All she knew for certain was that she would _obtain_ him in one way or another. She cracked another creepy smile at the thought of her inevitable victory as her obsessive personality would never allow her to give up. It simply was not in her nature.

She had a one-track mind and only one desire. While she stared at him, she contemplated new methods to win him over. Casting brainwashing hexes crossed her mind all the time, but that was far too easy to satisfy her.

Every day she continued to work in the shadows and even in the open to ensure her goal was met. Whether she would simply erode his mind with her tactics until he could no longer bear to be without her or genuinely wormed her way into his heart was absolutely no concern to her. So long as she got what she wanted, she was willing to try almost anything.

* * *

In the darkness of the cellar, Tharja kept herself awake thinking of the few memories she had of those long lost halcyon days.

She sat against the wall, gazing up at the ceiling. She made a mess of the place after toying with gravity for hours. She would have continued to experiment, but her last trail got a little too dangerous. Tharja recalled nearly being sucked into her own vortex of extreme pressure which she spawned just a little too close to her person. After that, she felt it was time to take a break.

The Dark Mage spent hours lying there in recollection. She was not gaining any new memories from her life before she found herself trapped in this neon Hellscape. She enjoyed it at first, but only for a short time.

Tharja let out a long sigh as she sat there in that humid cellar. The anticipation was beginning to set in. Anxiety was a rare thing for Tharja to experience as there were only a few things worthy of her care and one of those was facing potential danger. She waited to know something about the hex she weaved all to regain her most prized possession.

She did not spend too much time wondering if there was a better way to uncover Robin's old self. At that time, Tharja was more concerned on how she would retaliate against the serpent responsible for his alteration in the first place if her spell backfired in some way.

Her expression remained sorrowful. No longer did she have something to distract her from the looming question left by her extremely experimental hex. One thing was absolutely clear to her.

"Whether it fails or not," she whispered to the empty room. "You stole him from me. It's all your fault. One day, Ghiaccio, I'll kill you and it will be a slow death."

* * *

Lon'qu was finally able to move his head after so many hours had passed. The hex was still in effect on the rest of his body, but he could at least look at something other than the canopy.

The first thing he did as soon as he could move was turn his head and gaze at Lyn's corpse. Her body was left alone by the Shepherds who presumably wanted to leave it for Lon'qu to deal with as soon as he was on his feet. He already knew where he wanted to bury her. At the moment, it was only a matter of regaining control of his body in order to do so.

He was surprised to find that the ice remained solid. Her body was still covered in frost. A lot of the blood around the wound Robin left in her stomach had frozen over as time progressed. It appeared as though the ice Robin conjured was only getting colder despite the tropical climate.

Lon'qu took time to study the expression on her lifeless face. He could still see what she had experienced in her final moments. He was even more shocked by her postmortem expression than the ice that covered her body.

It was a look of pure bliss. Her lips were locked into an eternal smile. A calm and relaxed smile. Lon'qu was expecting to see a face of terror, but he got the exact opposite. Her lifeless lips were curled into a serene smile. It pained him to look at her corpse. Her death was nothing sort of torturous but the look on her face was still so filled with relief.

It made no sense to him. Just another haunting and insidious sight to bear witness to in this merciless forest.

The sound of footsteps growing louder in the background caused him to turn away from Lyn's body. He saw Chrom approaching him from the top of the hill. The leader of the Shepherds forced a smile at the sight of him at least being able to move one part of his body.

"That hex is slow to wear off," Chrom so eagerly stated the obvious. "I'm guessing you still aren't able to speak, but as soon as you can walk again, come and find us. We're just up on the top of that hill. We won't be going anywhere without you. Trust me. If I can help it, nobody else is going to be lost out here. I refuse to let it happen. I refuse to let this forest beat us."

* * *

Tharja kept her eyes locked on Robin as he slept soundly. She had been in his room for hours on end. She crept up to his room shortly after Ghiaccio's friends left, all except for Yvo who, as far as she knew, was still sleeping downstairs and completely ignorant to the fact that he had been left behind.

She waited for the moment when he would finally arise from his slumber. Normally, if she was impatient to interact with him, Tharja would simply wake him up in some creative and terrifying way, but given her recent hex, she did not want to take the risk.

He eventually began to stir after a while. Robin soon woke up to the sight of Tharja looming over him with a creepily fixated stare. Naturally, he jolted upright in fright. That was the most lively she had seen him act in a long time.

Ever since she reunited with him in the forest, she made it a point to intentionally spark some sort of emotional response. Most of her strategy consisted of hiding in dark corners of the mansion until he made the mistake to walk by and would jump out at him. The closest she ever witnessed to an emotional reaction, however, was a roll of his eyes as he silently went about his business.

"Tharja," he blurted out. "What are you doing in here?"

Even his tone was different. For once, Robin actually sounded as if he had a bit of life left in that fleshy shell of his. Tharja made no reply. She was far too focused on observation.

Robin stared right back at her in confusion. As usual, she was behaving strangely. Rarely did she ever show any sign of normalcy. She was at least easy to read. She did a terrible job of hiding her darker intent.

"Is something wrong," asked Robin. "You seem to be acting even more bizarre than you usually do."

"Nothing's wrong. Just go about your day. Don't mind me."

With that, Tharja abruptly bolted from the room. She threw open the door and dashed into the shadows. Robin was left alone, wondering what she was planning this time. Of course, he knew her well enough to know that nothing good was to come of this sort of behavior.

Robin threw the blanket off of himself and looked around the room. Ghiaccio was nowhere to be seen. Normally, he could still be seen slithering around the room. The serpent always woke up early, but today he seemed to have gotten an even earlier start if he even had any sleep at all.

He stood up out of the bed and approached the hallway. Robin poked his head out only for a second just to check his corners before leaving the room.

With Tharja nowhere in sight, he could at least _start_ his day in peace. Whether it would stay peaceful or not, only time would tell.

* * *

As his routine dictated, the first person Robin set off to visit for the day was Ghiaccio who he found curled up in a recliner in the living room. To his surprise, Yvo was sitting on the other recliner at the opposite end of the room. The two perked up and looked in his direction the moment he set foot in the room.

"Rise and shine, Robin," Ghiaccio greeted with an intentionally annoying shake of his rattle. "I was just telling Yvo here about those freaks who murdered each other on our lawn awhile back. Well, I mean, we helped in the bloodshed, but still."

"Sounds like good times," Yvo added, giggling like a lunatic.

"Morning," Robin greeted with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. It was not like he was jittery or hyperactive in the least, but the fact that he simply smiled as he spoke was cause for suspicion.

Ghiaccio immediately knew something was wrong from the moment Robin opened his mouth. He was acting oddly. Ghiaccio was far too observant to not notice this. Despite how out-of-the-blue this moment was, he was still tempted to deem Robin merely being in a good mood which had never happened until now and if it did then he most certainly could not tell as Robin always behaved the exact same way, day in and day out.

"Okay, then," Robin stated after a short period of awkward silence. "I'll be around then."

For a few seconds, Ghiaccio merely stared at him, looking into his very soul with those cold elliptical pupils.

"See ya," Ghiaccio sternly stated and with that, Robin walked away. Ghiaccio even studied the way he walked while he headed out of the room. He found nothing about his walk that changed, or at least, nothing obvious.

Yvo looked to the serpent with confusion the moment Robin left the room. "The hell was that about? Something wrong?"

"Nah," Ghiaccio dismissed. "Nothing at all."

* * *

 _Note: A late update. Sorry about that, but on the bright side, Crocodile Tears is almost complete! That's something!_


	24. Ophthalmia

**Ophthalmia**

Lucina hid her face beneath her mask, zealously fighting away Lissa as she attempted to remove it. She did not say a word about the condition of her eyes, or the fact that she had been permanently blinded in one of them.

Whether it was her hostile responses to the plethora of times she had been asked to remove her mask or her lack of response to anything going on to her left; she could not say for certain what exactly gave it away.

The last time she had removed her mask was not long after her eyes had been envenomed. It was easily the worst pain she had ever experienced. It was still painful just to blink. She knew her eyes were in far worse condition. She did not need visual proof to know this. Her vision did improve over time in her right eye, but the swelling had only gotten worse. She felt it every time she closed her eyelids.

She shuttered to think of how hideous of a sight it must be. If she herself did not want to see it, the last thing Lucina wanted was for anyone else to see her face.

"Would you just hold still," Lissa finally snapped. She had lost her patience awhile ago. The swelling around her mask and along the tops of her cheeks was obvious. There was some sort of infection she was hiding.

It was the last wound she had to check. Everything else had already been mended or at least tended to in some way. Only one remained and Lucina refused regardless of the means Lissa employed whether it be through attempted force of fear mongering.

Chrom watched from a distance, wondering why his daughter preferred to keep this clearly nasty infection as opposed to letting anyone see it. The moment Lissa finally gave up, she turned to him and demanded that he provide her with some assistance. Something he only hesitated to do at first for fear that removing the mask might actually cause her a bit of pain as she had obviously been wearing the thing for a while. Regardless, he nodded and stepped forward.

He moved to Lucina. It was troublesome enough given that her back was to a tree. He pulled her from her cover and held her arms at her sides while Lissa pulled the mask off of her face at long last.

Lucina shrieked, immediately jerking away from her father, she threw herself to the ground and hid her face in her hands.

" _Don't look_ ," she shouted in humiliation. "It doesn't need healing! It's getting better! Just give me my mask back!"

The moment she turned away from Lissa and plowed her head into the dirt, Chrom got a pretty good look at her left eye. Lissa got an even better glimpse of both of them despite Lucina's efforts to hide her ugly wounds.

Chrom noticed the horrific inflammation of her eyeball. Not even closing her eyes could fully hide it. Her once crystal clear cobalt eyes were now completely fogged over. He could not even see her pupils at this point.

"What happened to you," asked Lissa, terrified at what she had seen. "Did you get into something? Is there anything out here you might be allergic to?"

Lucina slowly shook her head, not daring to lift her head up. After a brief pause, she cried out a response, her voice filled with vile anger.

" _That damn snake happened!_ "

She, of course, did not need to say anything else.

* * *

A heinous laughter echoed throughout Ghiaccio's haunted mansion. Yvo and Robin sat on opposite ends of the dining room table while Ghiaccio remained coiled up at the center.

He cackled at Yvo's dark jokes. Yvo merely sat there after he had finished speaking, watching Ghiaccio with a slight grin. Robin kept himself occupied as he fiddled with the very same weapon Yvo had utilized to end Basilio's resistance.

The weapon intrigued him to no end. It was entirely alien to him, but the more he examined it, the more he could at least paint a mental image of how the thing operated. Whether or not that image was accurate at all could only be answered by the same person who let him toy with it for the time being.

" _Yo, Gio_ ," the elf interjected. Ghiaccio detected the seriousness in Yvo's voice and immediately silenced his laughter.

"Earlier, you said something about a couple Druids visiting you? The hell was that about?"

"Wasn't about much of anything," the serpent huffed dismissively. "I guess they know where I'm headed. They told me to stay away from the Faceless City."

"You still gonna head down that way or do I need to tell Elzene not to waste her time?"

Ghiaccio nodded without a moment of hesitation. "Oh, yeah. I'm still going. Those circus freaks aren't going to intimidate me. I don't know how the figured out my destination so we'll need to play this safe."

While he still smiled like a homicidal maniac, the elf's tone suggested a totally different state of mind as he inquired further. "Did they say anything else to ya?"

"Nah," Ghiaccio sighed. He almost left it at that before something came to him. Ghiaccio's eyes lit up as he remembered another detail.

" _Actually_ , there was one other thing. Be careful, because I think they might be watching you too."

Yvo curiously furrowed a brow at the unexpected remark.

"They started asking me about the mansion's previous occupants awhile back," Ghiaccio explained. "I mean, they've been dead for a decade. Nothing about them is relevant and the only person who's ever asked me about them was you. Again, I could just be making false connections here, but I thought it was a bit too convenient given how recently you've started asking me the exact same questions."

"What did you tell them?"

Ghiaccio almost made a sort of 'shrug' with his body as he spoke. "I just made up some shit."

Yvo leaned back in his seat. Suddenly, he felt a bit more confident for whatever reason.

"Interesting. Well, thanks for the heads-up. I'll keep my eyes peeled from here on out."

* * *

The Shepherds kept away from the top of the hill while Lissa and Chrom tended to Lucina's wounds. Their expressions were as grim as the scene that surrounded them. Blood stained the grass. A thin sheet of frost rested on top of that blood and three corpses decorated the ground around a paralyzed Lon'qu who no one had bothered to move away from said bodies.

Unsure about what to do with the dead, Chrom ordered them all to be moved into one place until they found time to bury them.

Vaike stared at Flavia who stopped her wailing hours ago and was now simply sitting by Basilio's body. She had yet to say a word or even acknowledge their presence. He could not be certain if she was still in denial about the fact that he was well and truly dead, but that did appear to be the case.

He tried to ignore Virion's ravings about Chrom's ineptitude. While he found it hard to disagree with Virion's points, he had grown tired of hearing them be repeated over and over again.

"I simply refuse to die here," Virion snarled. "How many of us have to drop dead because of Chrom's incompetence? Are we really to trust our lives to such a fool that we..."

" _Yeah, we get it_ ," Cherche finally snapped. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

Her response was proof that Vaike was not the only one becoming annoyed with Virion's incessant ranting.

Virion turned to her, preparing to retort. His lips parted but it would not be given the chance to speak for himself. Another voice replied to Cherche's question. A voice that no one recognized.

" _He intends to separate himself from the group._ "

Everyone turned in the direction of the voice. The Shepherds immediately backed off when they simultaneously noticed the person that strange voice belonged to.

Standing off in the distance was an ominous looking knight in black armor. Small vines and flowers bloomed from his plated uniform, and a demonic mask concealed his face.

The knight spoke once more, already responding to a prediction that had yet to come true. "Personally, I would not recommend this course of action unless death truly is your end goal."

Virion and Gregor immediately recognized his armor and plants growing out of it. They kept their eyes open for a possible second knight with a mouth that had been sewn shut.

"Tell your leader to meet me by the lake," the knight sternly ordered. "Inform him that I will not be waiting around forever. And if he wishes to know how to leave this forest, then he _will_ see me as quickly as possible."

"You're like monster that attack Gregor and Virion back at mansion," Gregor announced. "Why would we trust stranger, anyhow?"

Vaike leaned towards Gregor and whispered in his ear, all the while giving the knight a pleasant and apologetic smile. "Hold on," he covertly snarled. "He said he knows the way out! If that's true then we should at least tell Chrom about this."

Virion overheard Vaike's whispering. He probably was not the only one either given how truly loud his whispering was, practically defeating the purpose in the first place, but he had come to expect such a thing from Vaike.

The archer honestly could not figure out why Vaike was trying to be secretive given that he was _agreeing_ with the knight, but he learned long ago not to even bother questioning Vaike's methods.

"Obviously, we're going to tell Chrom," Virion snapped in an unnecessarily agitated tone. "Of course, whether he chooses to get more of us killed over this stranger's proposal, only you all will be able to tell. As for me, well, our black-clad friend here has read me like a book. Once Lucina starts to explain things, I'm going to find my own way out of these woods. To hell with Chrom's idiocy! I refuse to die because of his foolishness!"

"I have no time to listen to your bickering," the knight interrupted. "Just relay the damn message. I'll be waiting near the lake. The girl with the tiara will know where to go."

With that, the knight turned right around and walked back into the depths of the forest. No one bothered to stop him.

Before Virion had a chance to go right back to his argumentative stance on current affairs, Cherche spoke out. Practically reading his mind, she managed to interrupt him before he even had a chance to part his lips.

"Why couldn't he just walk over the hill and tell Chrom himself if this is so important?"

"Why trouble yourself with such questions," asked Virion. "It makes no difference. That idiot will find out regardless. We have no reason to keep the information from him. Well, aside from the fact that he is a complete..."

"That's enough," Frederick snapped.

Everyone turned to him in unison. Virion, in particular, was both shocked and appalled by this sudden outburst.

"I will not allow you to insult the Exalt's name! Such an act should be a crime!"

"Oh, piss off, will you," Virion snarled. "Your beloved Exalt got three of our own killed as well as one stranger! All of us warned him about the sketchiness of the situation, but the lunatic forced us to press on! So forgive me if I find Chrom's intelligence a bit questionable!"

Frederick approached the archer and grabbed him by his ascot. He pulled Virion forward and shot an uncharacteristically angered glare at him.

"Unhand me, you boot lick!"

Vaike and Gregor immediately moved between the two belligerents, prying them apart in the process.

"Calm down," Gregor interjected. "No need to add to body count! Insults get us nowhere. We work together to get out of forest, no?"

It was not Gregor's reasoning that caused Frederick and Virion to quiet down. Indeed, everyone froze in place the moment the Exalt himself cleared the top of the hill and moved down towards them.

He stopped about halfway down the hill, not fully willing to go right up to his fellow Shepherds. He stared down at Virion with a look that lacked all of his usual confidence.

"Sire," Frederick announced. "Virion sees fit to insult your intelligence. This crime should be punished severely."

Chrom looked to Frederick in utter bewilderment. A reaction that the knight was not at all expecting.

"What are you on about, Frederick? I'm not going to punish anyone." He then turned back to Virion, once again meeting the archer's wrathful gaze. "Look, anyone who wishes to find their own way is free to leave at any time. The Shepherds are a volunteer force, after all. It's not like we are all bound by some unbreakable blood pact."

Upon hearing this news, Virion said absolutely nothing. Abandoning the group suddenly seemed like a terrible idea as he would be cut off and alone in a forest filled with predatory monsters, sadistic elves, and ruthless traitors.

Of course, he would not be caught dead admitting this to anyone but himself. He kept quiet from then on and hoped that the others would forget about his empty threats.

When no response came from Virion, Chrom simply turned around and walked back over the hill, but not without giving one last request. A request only as he no longer bared the courage to give a proper order.

"Can someone bury those bodies, already," he meekly asked as he walked away. "It's disrespectful to leave them like this."

* * *

Lissa looked over Lucina's eyes while trying to hide her disgust. It was impossible for her to close her left eye due to all of the swelling. She was left scratching her head on what to do other than numb the dull pain with a couple of helpful spells.

It was a type of wound she had never seen before and the cause which Lucina had only hinted at earlier was not making any sense to her. How could a serpent, most likely a certain blue-scaled serpent with an uncanny intellect, have possibly been able to inject venom into her eyes without biting her.

She thought of all the possibility on her own, but none of them seemed probable. As she worked to numb the pain and drive back the obvious source of infection in her left eye, which also did not make any sense to her; Lissa eventually broke down and asked.

"How did it happen?"

Lucina let out a soft groan as she answered the question. "He spat his venom at me. I could never have expected it. He can actually spit his venom from a long distance. He doesn't have to bite you."

Lissa's eyes widened in morbid awe. She had heard of a snake that could actually spit its venom before. She vaguely recalled the few times she spoke with Tharja who would hint at similar serpents living in the deserts of Plegia, but there was never any proof of it nor did hear it being mentioned by anyone else.

Of course, it was far less bizarre than a snake that could actually talk, but such a creature had become the norm for her.

Despite how obvious it was given Lucina's wording, Lissa simply had to confirm her suspicion.

"The snake that did this to you," Lissa began. "Was it him? Was it Ghiaccio?"

"So you've met?"

Lissa nodded her head. "It really was him, wasn't it? Where was Robin during all of this? Surely, he would never let such a thing happen?"

Lucina huffed at her concerns. "He was nowhere in sight. I tried to get Ghiaccio alone and force him to stop interfering with us, but I failed."

"I'm sure we can figure something out," Lissa replied in a desperate attempt to inject a bit of false hope into the conversation. "We can't be trapped here forever, you know! Eventually, we'll have to find a way out!"

"A new friend of mine always says otherwise," Lucina informed.

Lissa tilted her head curiously at her remark. "You met a friend? Here? Who?"

"Her name is Lyn," Lucina proclaimed in pained fondness. "We should go and see her after this. Maybe with the right amount of convincing, we can get her to help us. We can leave the forest together."

Her aunt went pale the moment that name was mentioned. She stared down at Lucina with a look of terror and shock. It was not the reaction she was expecting. Seeing it made her all the more nervous.

"Hey, what's that look about," asked Lucina. "What's wrong? Do you know her?"

Lissa turned at the sound of footsteps approaching from behind. She spotted her brother walking down the hill with a sorrowful expression. "Chrom," she called out in a shaken tone.

Her voice caught him off guard. He stopped just a few yards away from her, waiting to hear her request.

"The woman Anna had us searching for," Lissa began, her statement immediately sending a wave of fear and worry through Lucina's heart. "What was her name, again?"

"Lyndis, I think."

Lissa slowly turned her head back to Lucina and froze upon noticing her ghostly complexion.

"W-what happened to her," Lucina stammered. "You met her!? Where is she!?"

In a deadpan voice, Chrom gave her the honest truth of the matter.

"She's dead."

* * *

Lucina only stopped to put her mask back on. She followed her suspicion without bothering to ask where the corpse was located. She cleared the hill and scanned the path ahead. Surely enough, there was a familiar body sat up against a tree, covered in ice.

She spotted the other Shepherds gathered in a cluster a fair distance away from the body. To her horror, there was not just one body, but several.

In front of her lied Lon'qu, who at first glance definitely looked dead. Far to her left, she noticed two more corpses. She easily recognized them, Anna and Basilio. She also spotted a grieving Flavia looming over Basilio's bloodstained body.

She could not begin to wrap her mind around what she was seeing despite its fairly obvious nature. The ice made no sense to her. Neither did the grievous gashes on Lyn and Anna's corpses. She knew there could be only one party responsible for this slaughter. A certain talking pit viper and a treacherous tactician both came to mind.

There were other signs of elven interference with whatever sort of conflict went on down here. She could see strange holes in a number of tree trunks. This combined with the odd piles of brass casings left on the riverbank both led her to the same conclusion as they were both sights she had only witnessed on the northern side of the river up until now.

She recalled the small details Virion had filled her in on as he led her to her father and aunt. Most of their conversation revolved around him asking her about her own experiences along with trying to figure out what sort of monster they had encountered.

Although, not even a detailed explanation of these events could prepare her for actually seeing the aftermath and the realization that followed.

The realization that everything she had either feared or been blatantly warned about was becoming a reality.


	25. Mani Katti

_Note: One thing I've been contemplating ever since I started working on Crocodile Tears was a separate story that depicts Lyn's first encounter with Ghiaccio and follows the characters of Blazing Blade as well as the events that transpired at the lake. Of course, it has the same issue as Crocodile Tears in that anyone who has already read most of Jade will know exactly how it ends._

 _Let me know if that idea sounds appealing. I won't start working on it until after Jade's completion though because unlike Crocodile Tears, this will most likely be a full-length story._

* * *

 **Mani Katti**

Yvo watched as Robin dug through the cabinets in Ghiaccio's kitchen. The kitchen was cluttered with old pots and pans that appeared to have not been used in years. Only a small section of the kitchen appeared to still be in use as well as a fraction of the dishes.

The elf released a loud yawn just to remind the others that he was still waiting. When neither of them bothered to respond, Yvo decided to make his impatience a little more obvious.

"Sometime today would be great."

"I know that map is in here somewhere," Ghiaccio proclaimed.

Neither Yvo nor Robin were totally convinced by his theory. Robin glanced down to all of the items that had been scattered across the moldy floor. Rusty pots and cutlery littered the area. An impressive mess had been made over the course of the last hour of searching yet there was still no sign of the map in question.

"I had it all drawn out," Ghiaccio complained. "Robin, you helped me write down our plans for the journey ahead so where the hell is it!?"

"I have no idea," Robin replied without a trace of emotion in his cold voice.

Ghiaccio noticed his change in behavior earlier, and despite the fact that he appeared to be acting normally again, Ghiaccio still looked upon him with suspicion.

"Well, I could have sworn we left it in here," Ghiaccio insisted. "Am I just crazy or what?"

Robin suddenly pulled a piece of black cloth from the cabinet and held it up into the light for Yvo and Ghiaccio to see.

In confusion, Ghiaccio tilted his head at the curious item. "That ain't our map," Ghiaccio snapped. "What is that thing, anyway?"

Robin wrapped the cloth around his eyes, immediately reminding Ghiaccio of its previous use.

"Why do we still have that," Ghiaccio sneered. "Trash that shit, man."

Robin tossed the blindfold over his shoulder and resumed his searching. Yvo sat back and observed only for a short time before he grew bored with watching this human throw various objects around the room nearly hitting him with a few of them in the process.

The elf looked up at the filthy window above Robin. His eyes quickly widened when he noticed a strange rustling in some of the brush that lined the edge of Ghiaccio's expansive yard.

"What's that over there?"

Robin rose to his feet in response to the elf's question.

"What's what," asked Ghiaccio.

"By the tree line. I'm seeing movement."

The duo narrowed their eyes simultaneously and stared at the window, observing the outside world. Surely enough, Yvo was not making it up as there was some minor movement in the foliage outside. Both Robin and Ghiaccio wondered how Yvo was able to see it in the first place as they would never have noticed without being told where to look.

Ghiaccio flickered his tongue in the air to scan for any new scents. He then began rattling his tail as he whispered into Robin's ear. "Where's your wife right now, Rob?"

A detail that Ghiaccio was both intrigued and shocked by when he first heard it. While he had met many strange people in his time, the thought that there would be at least one person who would marry a stalker genuinely surprised him.

"She and Rhajat did indeed go down that way. I believe they were heading to the tree houses, but they said they would not return for awhile."

Yvo giggled at Robin's vague answer. "Yeah? Well, did they say that awhile ago or what?"

"Why not just go and see what's causing all that commotion," Robin proposed, already bored of the issue at hand.

"No," Ghiaccio retorted. "Let's hang back for now. Just be sure to keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

* * *

An intimidating mansion loomed high over Ricken. It's creepy and decrepit appearance made him all the more nervous about approaching it. He hid in the brush, watching the property for any signs of inhabitants that might be living there.

It definitely looked abandoned. Glowing vines stretched across the walls. On top of all the overgrowth, there were other clear indicators that the manor had not been tended to in years. Despite all of that, Ricken still did not dare step out into the open.

He stared intently at the property just as he had been doing for the past two hours. Ricken debated with himself if he should take up another vantage point, but just as he was about to start his search for a new hiding spot, he heard a voice behind him. The boy jumped at the sound of it.

"See anything yet?"

Ricken twirled around to face this newcomer. He instantly recognized the pot sitting on his head and lowered his guard. "Oh, Donnel. You frightened me."

Donnel bowed his head apologetically. "Ah! Didn't mean to scare ya. Sorry, Ricken."

The mage titled his head when he heard footsteps coming from somewhere behind Donnel. Ricken peered past Donnel and spotted another familiar figure emerging from the poorly lit woods.

"Maribelle? Is that you?"

" _I am, I am_ ," a feminine voice replied. Maribelle stepped into the light of a nearby column of glowing vines and gave Ricken a rather pompous smile. She then took a look around as if searching for something. "Say, where might Cordelia be? I fear I have not seen her since we arrived at this strange mansion."

"Oh," Donnel replied. "She went 'round to the front to see if anybody's home."

"She did what," Ricken exclaimed in a panic. "I thought we agreed not to do that! We should stay hidden if people do live around here! I don't want to end up like those bodies we saw in that creek bed."

Donnel shuttered at the thought of those strange corpses they had encountered in what appeared to be a mass grave which was suspiciously close to this creepy mansion. He remembered counting five corpses in total which was more than enough to make his skin crawl and his heart recoil in disgust.

"Come on," Ricken ordered. "We need to find her."

He stood up out of the brush, no longer caring if he was spotted. He bolted from his hiding spot without saying another word. Donnel and Maribelle wasted no time and promptly chased after him.

* * *

It took long enough but finally, Lon'qu had regained full control of his body. He forced himself to his feet. He looked around only to find himself alone. Knowing the other Shepherds were just on the other side of that terrible hill, he took his sweet time in regrouping with them.

He spent a few minutes stumbling about until he was able to fully regain his sense of coordination, but the disorientation quickly passed. He turned and knelt down before Lyn's corpse which had yet to be moved.

Lon'qu realized that her body was practically frozen in place. With some effort, he was able to break her body free from the cold frost that bound her to the tree. He laid her down on the ground and observed her lifeless body with a pained expression.

Slowly, he rose to his feet and approached the other two bodies. He stared down at Anna's bleeding corpse in confusion. He remembered listening to what she said. She acted so differently than the Anna he knew. Her behavior made no sense to him, but neither did the forest as a whole.

Lon'qu then gave a mournful glance to Basilio's body. Flavia loomed over it, not even paying attention to him. For as long as he had been paralyzed, she did not move. She had at least stopped screaming in grief, but her silent demeanor was still just as upsetting.

In a hope to at least get a response from her, he spoke out in a cautious tone. "Ma'am. What are we to do now?"

There was a moment of silence. Flavia did not so much as look up from his body. To his surprise, she did speak and it was exactly the response he both expected and hoped for.

"We retaliate. Retribution is the only way his soul will find peace."

Lon'qu recalled the brief time when the Shepherds had presumed Basilio dead in Valm. His memories of the event were as vague as everything else, but he did not remember Flavia ever behaving in such a way even then. She was acting just as enigmatically as Anna did in her final moments. Nobody seemed to be truly acting like themselves as of late.

"Then retaliation it is," Lon'qu agreed flatly. "Damn the serpent and the traitors. They'll all meet the same fate. A bloody impalement on my blade."

"Not if I can behead them first," Flavia snapped back while she tightly gripped her axe.

The thought gave Lon'qu an idea. He held up his sword. A Killing Edge that had proved useful to him up until recently. He then glanced down at Lyn's sword which rested on the ground. It had been unmoved ever since its wielder was cut down.

Lon'qu could not think of a more genuinely poetic way to kill the one responsible for all of this mayhem than to do it with that blade.

He gave his sword one final inspection before throwing it to the ground. He then approached the orphaned sword and picked it up. Immediately, he could feel something odd about it. A strange power exuded from the blade. It was not overwhelming at all. It was extremely weak and hard to notice, but it was indeed there.

Part of that strange aura almost felt like the owner herself. He could sense her presence. Just a little bit of warmth that festered within a shell of frost. Lon'qu held it just above the ground, contemplating its aura.

In that moment, he felt a soft breathing against the back of his neck. An icy hand rested on his right shoulder. He jolted awake from his deep but brief recollection and span himself around. There was nothing behind him.

Nothing but the remains of the dead and the cold traces of their restlessness.

* * *

Cordelia stood at the front door of this ominous mansion. She knocked on its rotting surface and waited for a response. A good portion of the property proved itself to be derelict, but there were certain things she had noticed on her journey to the front door which led her to believe the manor was not totally abandoned.

She glanced through some of the windows and noticed the interior. It was dark inside. Not a single light was on, but she could still see signs that the place was being used. The inside seemed to be far more orderly. Oddly enough, some rooms appeared as though they had been maintained while others were left to rot away.

The whole place was rather suspicious and she was eager to get to the bottom of this mystery. Despite everything she had seen thus far; from alien plants to an old battlefield and a much more recently created mass grave, she genuinely hoped someone was home. Someone who could shed some light on this strange forest.

To her surprise, the door slowly opened after a brief period of waiting. It sounded off with an unsettling creaking sound. Anticipation swelled within her as she waited to see who had come to answer.

A cold shiver ran down her spine when she noticed a shadowy figure standing in the darkness of the mansion's entrance hall. All she could see were a pair of wide, intrigued eyes, and a set of grinning teeth that glimmered under the turquoise light from outside. It was an insane smile. She instantly regretted her decision upon seeing this odd person.

Before she could muster the courage to introduce herself, the person hidden in the shadows spoke out to her.

"What can I do for ya, ma'am?"

Another voice called out from somewhere within the depths of the mansion. The voice clearly belonged to a man. It was bombastic and aggressive. A far cry from the eerie sound of the first man's voice.

" _Yvo! Who's there!? Is it Tharja!?_ "

Cordelia widened her eyes. A name she recognized. Suddenly, she felt a little bit more comfortable about speaking to this person.

"My name is Cordelia. I'm a Shepherd serving only under House Ylisse. I'm sorry to be a bother, but my friends and I appear to be lost. Can you tell us where we are and how to get back to Ylisstol? I would be most grateful for your time."

The man at the door turned away from her and shouted at the unseen denizens of the manor. "Hey, Gio! She says her name is Cordelia! Know anyone by that name!?"

Footsteps sounded off from inside. The man at the door stepped aside as another figure stepped out into the light. Cordelia instantly recognized him with that elaborate robe and head of silver hair.

" _Robin_ ," Cordelia gasped.

"Good day to you," Robin stated. "What brings you to our abode?"

She noticed the serpent wrapped around his neck and immediately took a step back. She had never seen such a reptile. A snake with cobalt scales and icy blue eyes. A black rattle could be seen at the tip of his tail. Another clear indicator that the snake was obviously venomous and yet Robin was still wearing it like a scarf.

The viper stared at Cordelia. Examining her from head to toe and then turned his head back around to face Robin.

"You know this person?"

Cordelia's eyes widened in horror. The serpent obviously spoke. It did not even speak in a hiss. His words were as clear as day.

Ignoring Cordelia's astonishment, Robin met the snake's glare and nodded his head. "Ghiaccio, this is Cordelia. She was one of the better Pegasus Knights that served under Chrom and me."

"I see," Ghiaccio stated with growing interest. "So, what do you want?"

Cordelia appeared genuinely confused by the question due to the sheer fact that Robin was standing right there, staring at her as if all were normal and mundane. Nothing was normal about this forest so why was he looking at her with such a bored frown.

"Well, I was hoping to find a way out of this strange forest. I had no idea you were here too, Robin. You see, I'm traveling with Maribelle, Donnel, and Ricken. We all found ourselves waking up next to each other, face down on the ground. I cannot for the life of me remember how we got here. Do you know anything about what's happening here? Where are Chrom and the others? How do we get back home from here?"

"There is no way home," Robin flatly muttered. "You're better off just giving up and making this place your new home."

With that, Robin turned his back to her. Just when he was about to retreat into the darkness of the manor, Cordelia grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Wait! You cannot be serious! Are you not at all concerned about any of this?"

As Robin twirled around to face her once again, Cordelia lowered her arm and backed off. There was something wrong here. She had not spent but a couple minutes with him and she could already see that something terribly wrong was at play here. Aside from Robin's uncharacteristic aloofness, she could not quite place what else was going on despite its obvious results.

"Cordelia," a voice called out to her left. Cordelia and Robin both glanced in the direction of the voice where they spotted three familiar individuals running up to her.

The trio simultaneously froze in place upon seeing Robin standing in the doorway, coldly staring back at them.

Ghiaccio grinned at the sight of these new, fresh faces. A cluster of people had delivered themselves to his door and he would use and abuse them accordingly.

"Well, this is a surprise," the serpent stated in an unnaturally friendly tone. "Why don't you all come inside? We can discuss things there."

* * *

The group took up their seats in the dining room with Robin and Ghiaccio sitting at the head of the table. Yvo stood with his back against the wall behind them.

Ghiaccio did most of the talking. He explained the situation Robin, Tharja, and Rhajat were in as well as what they had been doing with his time, although, he did leave out certain details.

It was when he began talking about their encounters with Chrom when Robin became thoroughly lost. It would have been easy enough to just leave that part out, especially if Ghiaccio wanted to entice them into joining their cause, but Ghiaccio clearly thought otherwise.

"Yeah, it was a real shame what happened to Chrom," Ghiaccio proclaimed, his words filled with manufactured regret.

Cordelia was the first to say anything the moment that name was mentioned. "Chrom!? What happened!? Where is he?"

"He betrayed his fellow Shepherds," Ghiaccio explained. "There's a reason Robin and I work alone now. The forest got to him. Drove him insane. He got two of his own killed and is still pushing his remaining followers to their limits even as we speak."

"Huh," Donnel interrupted. "Chrom? Gone mad? That don't make a lick of sense, snake."

"It's true," Robin confirmed. He did not want to say too much as he had no idea where Ghiaccio new narrative was going to lead, but he had his guesses.

Ghiaccio gave them a sorrowful nod. "He couldn't find his daughters. We told him that he could stay with us, but he just went crazy over it all. He became delusional and forgetful. Eventually, he began turning on what little support he had left. He got two of his own killed and he even attacked an innocent bystander. He plucked out one of her eyes and gutted her with Falchion. At that point, we had to kick him out."

"What he did to Anna and Basilio was unforgivable," Robin agreed. "They died because of him and I refused to fall for the same fate. We all hated ourselves for casting him and his few remaining followers to the wilds, but there was no other option. I hate to say it as he was my greatest friend, but Chrom has betrayed us all. Frederick, Lissa, Gregor, Virion, Kellam, Cherche, and Vaike all supported him in this matter."

No one responded at first. Maribelle, Donnel, and Ricken all silently stared at the table. They did not want to believe it, but they could hardly consider Robin a bad source of information, and if their brilliant tactician was agreeing with the story this serpent gave them then it was not something they could simply ignore.

Cordelia was the first to say anything. Oddly enough, she seemed rather optimistic about the dark tale she had just heard. "Clearly, Sumia has failed to keep him sane," she stated in disappointment. "No matter. When we find him, I'll be the one to help him."

Ghiaccio found this reaction intriguing. The woman's eyes were filled with aspiration, and that just so happened to be Ghiaccio's favorite tool.

"Look, I know this is probably a lot to take in," Ghiaccio continued, ignoring Cordelia's odd response, _for now._ "And I understand if you don't believe us, but we do need your help. You see, Robin and I are about to begin a search for something I've lost. We need to travel up north and we're going to need all the help we can get."

"I'm in," Ricken announced. The mage in the inconveniently large hat did not need to hear another word to be convinced.

"Indeed," Maribelle agreed. "Of course we will help you. It would be inconceivable to otherwise after all we have suffered through as one."

While Donnel did not disagree with either Ricken or Maribelle, he was rather shocked by how quickly the serpent was able to change the topic.

"What about Chrom," the boy inquired grimly. "We gonna just let him be?"

"We can't do anything about that right now," Ghiaccio insisted. "We have no idea where he and the others are at. For now, let's just stay focused on the task at hand. Try to relax for now because we're leaving at the end of the day."

"What exactly are you searching for," asked Maribelle.

"Something I've lost," Ghiaccio repeated. "Something that I'll risk my life if it means I can obtain it again."

Ghiaccio then ducked his head down and murmured to himself. He spoke in a tone so quiet, only Robin could pick up on it.

" _And I'll risk your lives all the same._ "

* * *

 _Note: I had been waiting to find the right moment to introduce a few more characters. I had originally thought about adding a couple more to Chrom's side, but then I realized how small Ghiaccio's team was in comparison so I decided to kick this next section of the story off by adding a few more traitors to the mix._


	26. Divide and be Conquered

**Divide and be Conquered**

Friend against friend. Brother against brother. Lover against lover. Everything was returning to normal at Ghiaccio's blood-drenched mansion. How many times he had seen the same process unfold, he could not exactly count. It had become an easy routine at this point.

The property was scattered in mass graves. The grass around the mansion was only a blanket for a plethora of stray corpses that had been buried and forgotten.

The serpent stared down at his front yard from atop the balcony overlooking the entrance. Four more clueless pawns had agreed to help him.

He watched his new group of victims as they scrambled about the property, gathering any last minute supplies for the coming trip. Ghiaccio was impressed by one thing. Every time he had come close to this point, his companions had all wound up dead. So far, he saw no need to kill these useful idiots.

"How much longer," Ghiaccio whispered to himself. His tone was filled with genuine dread as if his mind was already made up about the future.

"How much longer until everyone turns against me?"

Ghiaccio quickly brushed the thought from his mind. The serpent had more important things to do than being worried about nothing.

* * *

Lucina was not even given the time to explain all that had happened to her. As soon as Frederick relayed a rather cryptic message to Chrom, they were on their way.

Lucina felt relief for the first time in a long interval of agony. Her wounds had all been tended to. Her eyes finally stopped hurting and her vision even improved a bit in her right eye after all Lissa was able to do for her.

Just as she thought back on the pain and slow process of regaining at least half of her eyesight, she heard her father calling out to her. She looked up to the front of the line where her father was leading the way.

"How are you feeling, Lucina?"

"Better," she murmured. "Thank you, Aunt Lissa."

"Sorry I couldn't do more for you," Lissa informed with a regrettable smile. She walked alongside Lucina, avoiding eye contact with her.

Lucina turned to her with a curious frown. Seeing her expression out of the corner of her eye, Lissa's sorrowful grin grew as she prepared to answer the obvious question on her face before Lucina had a chance to ask it.

"I was able to quell the pain and heal the infection which was causing most of the problems in your right eye. However, I fear the damage has already been done. There is nothing more I can do. You will probably remain permanently blinded in your left eye, and the scars left by Ghiaccio's venom will never heal."

Lucina dropped her head in disappointment. "I see," she said quietly. "At least I still have this mask."

Lon'qu spoke up after such a long period of saying utterly nothing. Aside from vouching for Lyndis when asked about her involvement with current events, he ignored the other Shepherds. He silently carried her frozen body, refusing to allow it be buried in a shallow grave near that ugly hill.

He claimed to know the perfect place to leave their dead which led to the group dragging Basilio and Anna's bodies along as well for one mass burial.

"What will you do now, sire," Lon'qu asked in a demanding tone. "Are you really going to retreat from these woods altogether!? Your daughter was partially blinded by that snake! Two of our own died. Including that traitor, Anna, three bodies were left in his wake! Are you so cowardly that you refuse to retaliate?"

Chrom stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face his angered warrior. Everyone else kept their heads down. Even Virion had already had his fill of arguing with Chrom. No one moved and everyone waited to hear what their leader would have to say about the same issue that plagued their minds.

Suddenly, he glanced his daughter's direction and spoke to her rather than Lon'qu. "Can you please tell us what you know? Was Anna really a traitor? She claimed to be attempting to save you. She said this _Lyn_ person had sent you straight into a trap to be captured by those crazed soldiers across the river. Then, when it was all said and done. When she and Basilio were dead, Ghiaccio turned it around on her and provoked me into killing her. So, what really happened? Who's lying?"

Lucina hesitated in replying. She found it difficult to wrap her head around the events her father believed to be happening.

"They're both lying," Lucina finally admitted. "Ironically, Ghiaccio's story sounds like the closest to the truth. When he blinded me, I fell into the river and was swept away. I kept wandering around, waiting, hoping for my vision to come back. I got myself lost several times before I met Anna. She was acting weird the moment we found each other. We traveled up to the river so that I could get my bearings and that's when she betrayed me. She called out to an elven soldier that was patrolling on the other side of the river. She gave away my position on purpose and ran. I was able to fight my way out and that's how I ended up here."

"Interesting," Henry giggled. "Now, it's starting to make sense! Anna probably knew a thing or two about Ghiaccio's relationship with you and in an effort to turn a quick profit, she tried to get you killed and win favor with the traitors. Still doesn't explain why that other girl had to die, though."

"She was an old enemy of Ghiaccio's," Lucina explained. "Ghiaccio probably wanted her dead more than me. My guess is that Anna had been stalking the manor for awhile and figured this out."

"Would Anna be capable of this, though," Cherche inquired with a hint of suspicion in her voice. "We all know she has a plethora of identical sisters. Perhaps we dealt with one of them rather than our Anna?"

Lucina shrugged her shoulders at the question. "I guess anything's possible."

"So," Chrom asked, immediately changing the subject. He glanced over his shoulder, peering at Lon'qu as he spoke. "Are we to bury the corpses by the lake as well. I assume the place you wish to take them is near our destination."

"It is," Lon'qu agreed. "There's a village near the lake. We ought to bury them there. It's a much more peaceful place."

"A village," Lissa exclaimed. "Civilization!?"

"It's a ghost town," Lon'qu informed.

A wave of long sighs traveled throughout the group. Their hopes were thrashed the moment they were spawned.

"Sorry to disappoint," Lon'qu flatly continued. "It was probably a lively place once upon a time, but now only the dead reside there."

* * *

Ricken and Donnel sat outside of the mansion. They kept to themselves and sat with their backs resting against the left wall of the manor while everyone else went about their business either inside or in the front yard.

The two boys debated over the situation among themselves. It was not much of a debate as neither of the two truly disagreed with the other. Regardless, they still kept this back and forth going for hours. There was not much else to do while they waited to embark on whatever journey Robin and the others were preparing for.

"Would Chrom really go nuts," asked Ricken. "It sounds so out-of-the-blue. Surely it can't be as simple as they make it out to be."

"Ain't no reason for them to lie 'bout somethin' like that," Donnel informed. "Chrom and Robin are the best of buddies. I can't think of a single reason why Rob would go spouting somethin' like that at random."

"He's been acting pretty weird too, though," Ricken interjected.

"Who? Robin?"

Ricken nodded at Donnel's question. The boy gulped hard as he glanced around, making sure that no one was close enough to overhear him. Even though there was no one in sight, he still kept his voice down as he explained his observations to Donnel.

"Have you stopped to actually talk to him yet. I spoke to him for awhile after that meeting. I felt like he was staring into my soul. I've yet to see him show a single hint of emotion. He almost looks as if he's sleepwalking or something. And what's the deal with that snake? _It can talk!_ These glowing plants are just as insane. Seriously, where are we!? What's going on around here!?"

Donnel adopted an expression of obvious disbelief. "He's just lookin' a bit tired to me. He may need some serious shuteye, but that don't mean he's changed at all. You got a point, though. Talking snakes, blue plants, and that canopy. Ain't nothing making sense around here! When you think 'bout it..."

Donnel cut himself off the moment he noticed an intimidating and all too familiar figure approaching them from the back of the mansion. He stared straight past Ricken, who had his back turned to this newcomer.

Without knowing any better, he simply continued speaking where Donnel had left off. "I just ain't too fond that Tharja's here too. This mansion is creepy enough as is! Why does she gotta be here?"

It took Donnel far too long to figure out what Ricken was staring at with such an intimidated look in his eyes. By the time he decided to simply turn around and see for himself, it was much too late.

The boy's stomach sank at the sight of a black-clad woman looming over him with an insidious death-glare. He gulped hard at the sight of her and shrank in her imposing shadow. In the background and equally intimidating and almost identical woman stared him down.

"Don't go quiet now, boy," Tharja ordered in a cold tone. "You've got me curious. What were you going to say?"

* * *

Lucina and Lon'qu's promise of a peaceful lakeside village being their destination was proven after the Shepherds crossed a ravine where the river emptied out over a steep cliff and into a massive lake.

The place was quiet, serene, and just a little bit creepy. Lucina and Lon'qu were naturally the first to advance on the town while the rest of the Shepherds kept their distance. The village was not the most inviting of places which were an obvious reoccurring theme in the forest.

"I take it this is the place," asked Cherche.

"Unfortunately," Lucina stated with a long sigh. Lon'qu said nothing. He only nodded in silence.

The village was always empty and uncomfortably quiet. The whole town was as silent as a graveyard. From this distance, it was hard for some of the Shepherds to even see the town that laid in ruins before them. So much of it had been reclaimed by nature.

Lucina jumped down from the rock she stood on and led the way down to the village. The rest of the group followed without hesitation.

"I first met Lyn here. She taught me how the forest works, and the secrets to surviving its many horrors. Of course, lectures are hardly enough to prepare you for the real thing, but I'm still alive and she's partly to thank because of that. She most certainly never tried selling me to those genocidal elves across the river. That was all Anna's doing."

Lucina proceeded to explain all that had happened to her. Struggle after brutal struggle, she left nothing out.

As the group made their way closer to the village, Lon'qu chimed in and interrupted her story. "We should keep quiet. Lyndis and I fled this village after I spotted some of those same soldiers marching into town. It was a couple days ago, but it is possible that they could still be here."

Everyone in the group stopped moving simultaneously. Lissa abruptly threw herself on the ground, fearing that she would succumb to the same instantaneous fate as Basilio. The mere mention of those elves 'possibly' being in the area put everyone on edge.

The Shepherds scanned the area to ensure there was no one around. Surely enough, there were no elves to be seen. Of course, that did not mean the area was secured. The creepiness of the village was not helping.

All sorts of little shadows moved and danced out of the corner of their eyes. They all stared at random windows, thinking they had seen movement inside the homes.

Suddenly, a voice spoke out to them. The Shepherds kept their focus on the path ahead without any regards to the road they had just traveled down. Of course, that would be the direction in which they heard this ghostly and somewhat familiar tone.

" _A little jumpy are we?_ "

Everyone turned to face this unseen stranger. The Shepherds were quickly greeted with the sight of a darkly dressed knight hiding behind a terrifying metal mask. Living vines entangled his black armor. Aside from Chrom, Lissa, and Lucina, the majority of the Shepherds recognized him immediately.

"Lord Chrom, I'm genuinely surprised to see you've made it," the knight spoke in a nonchalant tone. "I assumed your bickering companions would fail to lead you to me. Glad you primates managed to surpass my expectations."

Lissa was the first to speak up. She narrowed her eyes furiously at the knight. "So you were the one who wanted to see us? Did you make us travel all this way just to insult us!?"

"Quiet, woman. It's not you I wish to see. I only asked to meet with your brother."

The knight then turned to face Chrom and extended his right arm towards the path ahead which led straight to the river. "I request that you follow me. Leave these interlopers behind. What I have to say is for your ears only, Lord Chrom."

Chrom hesitantly stepped forward. Being separated from his allies was not something he found to be a particularly good idea. He had become far more cautious after his previous mistake. He would not turn his back for a second only to find what little support he had been left slaughtered.

"This is some sort of trap, isn't it," asked Chrom. He was far too paranoid to trust anyone at this point, let alone this suspicious knight. "Of course I'm not going to split up with my party just like that."

"Very well," the knight sighed, all too eager to give up right then and there. "I see my time has truly been wasted. You may leave now. Go on and wander around until the forest tires of you. I'm sure it will not be long until that happens."

"We've already suffered a great loss," Chrom informed. "Surely you can understand why I'm not feeling so trusting at the moment."

"My name is Sven," the knight abruptly proclaimed. "And if you wish to leave this forest alive then I would recommend doing as I say. You and I have the same problem. It is the reason I requested to meet with you."

Silence befell the group. Some of the Shepherds, particularly Virion, seemed fond of that suggestion but Chrom remained unmoved. There was a reason for him being brought out here. He could only hope it was not for the same reason he thinks.

* * *

Tharja and Rhajat walked out onto the front lawn and observed the familiar faces that have gathered around the mansion while they were away. Donnel and Ricken followed them to the front where Tharja spotted both Cordelia and Maribelle standing on the front lawn.

She had a hard time recognizing them at first, but eventually, she was able to remember them. They looked up to the balcony above the entrance where Ghiaccio was busy shouting at them. Funnily enough, this had been the first time either Tharja or Rhajat even noticed that the mansion had a balcony.

The duo subconsciously blamed the poor lighting in the forest for not noticing such an obvious detail but quickly brushed it off along with whatever Ghiaccio was screaming about. Tharja spoke out, immediately causing Ghiaccio to fall silent and probably causing the snake much irritation.

"What's going on here," she inquired flatly. "Where did you people come from?"

The four Shepherds, or former Shepherds, all turned in her direction and stared on in confusion. No one seemed surprised to see her. They gave Rhajat more of their attention as they were clearly trying to figure out why there were apparently _two_ Tharjas standing before them.

Cordelia was the first to respond to Tharja's presence. "Oh, Robin told us you were here as well, Tharja. Nice to see you again. I believe we are all in the same situation. It must be blind luck that we managed to all meet up again. I think..."

" _Hey_ ," Ghiaccio shouted down from above. Tharja looked up to see the snake dangling along the stone guardrails that lined the balcony. "I'm talking here! Don't interrupt me!"

Doing exactly the opposite, Tharja instantly turned back to Cordelia and continued the conversation. "Is it just you four or did you find anyone else along the way."

"Just us, I'm afraid," Maribelle said with a depressed sigh.

Of course, Tharja did not care one way or the other. Just when she was about to make this fact perfectly clear to the pretentious noblewoman, she was interrupted once again.

"Tharja! There you are."

She looked up to the balcony once again. She spotted Robin looming over her, standing next to Ghiaccio.

"Meet me in the entrance hall," Robin requested. "I need to speak with you privately."

Curious about what needed to be said, Tharja had no problem complying with Robin's request. Then again, she would do just about anything so long as he was the one requesting it. As she moved towards the mansion she ignored Ghiaccio's teasing.

"Ew, someone's in _trouble!_ "

She kept quiet as she left the front lawn. Tharja simply did not have the energy to deal with that obnoxious viper at the moment.

* * *

Chrom followed Sven to the lake. He could not help but notice the graveyard lining the shore. Each tombstone faced the water. With their caretaker gone, they would be forever lost to time, fated to be forgotten.

He ignored the regret in his heart and instead focused Sven's words.

"Listen carefully, Chrom."

Chrom did exactly as told.

"If you want to leave my woods then this can be arranged. I'll send you and your friends home, but I do not believe in charity. Understand?"

"Figures," Chrom said with a sigh. "So what do we have to do?"

"Kill the cobalt rattlesnake. Bring me his severed head. Slaughter any of his sympathizers along the way."

Chrom was stunned. He had hoped to avoid further confrontation with Ghiaccio, not hunt him down.

Naturally, he made sure to voice his concerns. "What!? Why!?"

"I am not at liberty to say. I am under orders from the Faceless City and have been tasked with the elimination of the serpent. However, it is out of my normal authority to trespass on elven territory, let alone attack such an important ally of theirs."

"What exactly is this Faceless City," asked Chrom, knowing that he probably would not like the answer.

The knight slowly shook his head, silently rejecting his request for an answer. Chrom was left utterly confused by the stranger's lack of cooperation. He could have asked more of the questions that were buzzing around in his head, but Chrom was left wondering if they would even be answered or would he just be wasting his breath?

During his silence, the knight decided to elaborate a bit more on plans for the Shepherds. He opened his right palm and held out a glistening green gen for Chrom to behold. Chrom instantly recognized the stone as being some sort of well-carved jade. What the point of this was, he could not yet say for certain.

"We can guide you out of the forest, but only if you choose to help us first," the knight informed. "Kill the serpent and all of your former friends who accompany him. Do this, and we will ensure you and all those you've slain will return to your humble kingdom as if nothing ever happened."

For the second time, Chrom was presented with an offer that was far too good to be true, that is if he had understood this bizarre deal correctly. Regardless, he was not convinced at all, especially about the part of murdering Robin's little band of traitors.

One thing was for absolute certain, however. He would not be fooled again.


End file.
